


Impossible for Breakfast

by justlook3



Series: A Little Bit Magic [2]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Mild Sexual Content, Relationship(s), Romance, Short Stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 00:52:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3154682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlook3/pseuds/justlook3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having a relationship takes work. So does saving the world. And Jake and Cassandra? Well they're going to have to build their future while saving the world every week (and occasionally twice before Friday).  Told as a series of short stories.<br/>Now complete.<br/>A sequel to "A Little Bit Magic".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Weekend Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a series of short stories providing glimpses in Jake and Cassandra's life outside the Annex. The stories are "The Weekend" (6 parts), "Old Ways Best" (2 parts), "Valentine's Day" (1 part), "Postcards from Paris" (1 part), "Baby Business" (2 parts), "Future Thoughts" (3 parts) and "Two Rings" (2 parts).

They'd actually saved the world twice before Friday and Baird had ordered everyone to take the weekend off. 

"I don't care what you do, or where you go but stay out of the Annex until at least Monday. Now shoo."

Jones had slipped out before she said shoo. Jenkins had said Hallelujah and disappeared into the back somewhere. Baird had rolled her eyes then saw something on her desk. Whatever it was made her practically run out the front door.

"Bet she got a message from Flynn," Cassandra grinned. "I hope she did anyway. She misses him."

Jake stole a look around the Annex to make sure they were really alone and pulled her into an embrace. "And I missed you. You and I whole weekend. What do you want to do first?"

"Oooh a picnic, you know, in that park near the," Cassandra blushed, "Scenic lookout?"

The scenic lookout had been the site of their first kiss and it would always be special.

"I bet you have one of them wicker picnic baskets like in the movies." Jake said, taking her hand as they walked out.  "And a plaid picnic blanket."

"It's striped but yeah. "

Sometime later, lunch over with, Jake was lying on his back on the picnic blanket.  Cassandra was curled up next to him, tucked under his arm, her cheek resting against his chest.

"I'm thinkin' shapes in clouds would not work for the two of us." Jake grinned. "I'm seeing some great art up there and you're probably seeing geometry."

"I wasn't really looking," Cassandra said a little dreamily. He lifted his head to look down at her, where she was watching him with a soft happy expression. He quirked his finger at her to get her to scoot up a little bit so that they could kiss more comfortably. Soft and simple, but they were in public, even if the park was fairly empty.

Jake sighed when she'd moved back.

"What's wrong?"

"Saving the world is exhaustin'.  I was planning on enjoying every second of this weekend with you but . . . . It doesn't help that you're so cozy darlin'."

"Napping here wouldn't be good.  The ground's not that comfortable and bugs." Cassandra shuddered against him. "We could go back to one of our places and take a nap."

He lifted his head to look at her. "Are you sure about that? We haven't . . ." He waved his hand between them, blushing slightly.

"I think we could share a bed for this." Cassandra shook her head. "And you're the one who keeps putting the brakes on. I'm not . .." She was trying so hard not to blush, but she did anyway. "A virgin."

He bit his lip and then motioned for her to move, sitting up when she did. She looked a little confused.

"Better to have this discussion face to face," He said. "I didn't . . .I mean these days... well that's not why anyway. And it's not like I don't want to . . . ." He shook his head. "Wow, we are adults right? Why is this so awkward?"

She giggled in relief. "I don't know." She took a deep breath, "I'm not terribly um experienced.  There's only been uh 2 guys. One before I got sick and one after."

Jake shrugged, "Tell you the truth, we're even."

"Two? That's it?"

"Admittedly Emma, she lasted four years.  She wanted to get married and well not that I'm opposed to the whole thing but you can't spend a lifetime with someone . . ."

"That you don't trust . . . ." Cassandra said softly.

"Yeah," Jake's smile was sad. "She didn't know me but that was my fault. I didn't let her. Not like. . . . Well anyway . . . ."

"I've seen you flirt, I kinda pictured you having more uh experience."

"That's an act. Flirtin' is an art form. And well, showing off to the guys meant buyin' a gal a drink. If I needed to, I'd pick them up, which was always a ride home. After a while, the girls back home knew they had nothin' to fear from me. Guy harassing 'em, too much to drink, bad date, they'd whisper in my ear and they'd get home safe."

"And your friends never knew?"

"Nope, the girls kept it their secret.  I was the gentleman, the old fashioned guy.  And yeah, I am both those things."

"Is that why you're careful with me?"

"Yes and no. Sex and love are the same thing with me. You understand?  And I do . . . I mean I'm falling ... very close. Wow, this is hard."

Cassie's laugh was of joy, but she put her hand in front of her mouth anyway. "Jake . . .."

"This is too precious to be rushed. But I know there's. . ."Jake closed his eyes in brief pain. "There is a time clock."

Cassandra's beam faded just briefly. "There is. But we do, we have time. Not as much as we should have, but we have time.  And maybe, well there's still magic out there."

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I did not want to bring that up."

Cassandra shrugged. "It's something that we can't afford to ignore.  We can put our trust problems behind us, because they really are truly behind us. But this, this thing in my head, it's part of our future."

He nodded, not sure what to say.

"But that doesn't mean it's hanging over us every day. We have time to build our relationship. I'm glad we had this conversation,  I was worried. That maybe you thought I would break or that you'd hurt me or even that you didn't . . . ." She motioned down at herself, looking a little sheepish.

"Oh honey, no, no. Trust me, oh trust me. Especially after I found out you have a thing for leopard print."

"Jake!" Cassandra blushed violently.

He chuckled. Glad to change the mood. "I'm being honest."

"I'm just glad I was wearing a camisole that day. My goodness. Especially in front of Flynn. I mean Baird, well she's a woman. And you're, well . . . even then." She blushed. "But Flynn feels more like a big brother or an uncle, you know? So embarrassing."

"Well, let's keep your clothes on in front of anyone who is not me, okay?"

Cassandra grinned impishly, "Why? Would you be jealous?" She slung her arms around his neck.

"Maybe. I was jealous of Prince Charming."

"Oh cuz I was getting all the chicks?" Cassie chuckled.

"Okay, I pulled that girl out of the wolf. Me."

Cassandra was more amused than anything so she kept laughing.

"But alright, one yes, ego hit. But two, as you fell more into it, you were payin' em attention and okay I was jealous."

"I get jealous when you flirt with Lamia."

"Her? She's evil. She creepily likes me. I use it to my advantage. And okay, there's ego there too. I like flirtin'.  But I'll try to keep it to you, unless I need to as part of a mission."

She smiled and kissed him on the nose. "Come on, my bed has lots of pillows. That nap idea sounds really good and I'd rather be in your arms then thinking of you upstairs."

"While I laid awake missin' you.  You have a point. Just no funny stuff missy." He playfully wagged a finger at her.  She winked at him and he beamed at her.  He really liked impish Cassie. It only came out now and again but he loved to see it.  He jumped up and held a hand out to her, helping her up.

"You think Ezekiel went home?" Cassandra mused shaking out the blanket. " Should we take the back stairs just in case?"

"I'd take the front stairs.  I can't see Jones not taking the back ones all the time."

"I hate sneaking around." She frowned as she folded the blanket up.

"I just don't want the hassle of dealing with him. Baird already knows about us. It's not a secret."

Jake frowned for a just a moment. Remembering a conversation he'd had with Baird before. He knew he had to have a talk with Cassie about things. But not right now, right now burying his head under a blanket and getting some shut eye with his girl in his arms was his main priority.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I was just doing inventory." He lied. "Did we pack everything up?"

"Yep."

"Then let's go home."


	2. The Weekend Part 2

When they got to the building, she'd sent him up to his place to change. "You can't sleep in jeans, Jake, just not comfortable."

She'd had a point. He usually slept shirtless but with everything with Cassie, he thought he best wear a tee-shirt. He grabbed a pair of pajama pants out of the drawer and then rooted around for his softest tee-shirt.  He knew Cassie liked the navy one in particular, had remarked on how soft it was on their last date. Or whatever snuggling on the couch half watching a movie was called these days.

His Cassie was a cuddler and god did he love it. He never realized just how much he craved affection until he met her. And for some with as little experience as she claimed to have, she sure knew exactly how to kiss him. Knew everything he liked just like he seemed to know exactly what she liked.

He looked up at the ceiling, the way they did when they were talking to the Library.

"Of course we do." He shook his head. "Well whoever put this spell on us? Thank you. I mean it, thank you."

He spotted his tee-shirt hanging over the armchair in the corner and grinned. "And thank you for that too."

He thought about it for a minute and decided he'd take a quick shower. He probably would have before he and Cassie had gone out, but she'd pretty much dragged him straight to her apartment from the Annex. She'd filled the basket in no time from all the food she always had on hand and they were back out in a flash. Sometimes he did wonder if she indeed was actually magic.

* * *

 

Several minutes later, he was standing in front of her apartment, one floor down, directly under his. Baird lived three doors down from him and Jones lived on the top floor. They had no idea where Jenkins lived.

He knocked gently, when the door opened, the apology for taking so long died from his lips as he looked at Cassandra.  She was wearing a short pair of boxer shorts covered in hearts and little tank top with a Teddy Bear on it.  She probably had intended him to laugh and find it adorable. But Jake, who had had sex on his mind all afternoon and was suddenly confronted by his girlfriend showing more skin than he'd previously seen on her, had a completely different reaction.  He just kept staring, his face flushed, his pupils dilating. Cassandra, very concerned, pulled him into her apartment and shut the door behind him.

"Jake? Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm good, yeah, real good."

Cassandra stared at him confused, then her eyes slipped down and then back up to his face, eyes widening. Without context, she'd been confused, now she knew what was going on. Just because they hadn't had intercourse didn't mean that they hadn't been physical to some extent. And Jake was a healthy adult male. He'd reacted to her before, usually while she was on his lap, his lips doing delicious things to hers, his hands on her back anchoring both of them to reality. But he'd never, not without them touching ... .She flushed herself, suddenly overcome with a new sensation.  She suddenly felt very empowered and sexy. A bit like the Apple but in a completely nice way.

"I didn't know you were into Teddy Bears," She managed, sighing at herself that her attempt to sound seductive came out squeaky.

"Huh?" Jake shook his head. Finally looking at the Teddy Bear on tank top and then chuckling. "Oh darlin' I was looking at what you didn't have on."

She looked down at herself, finally realizing what he meant. "I guess I always do cover my legs huh?"

He nodded. "Which helps me keep my mind off them tiny tiny skirts you have a habit of wearin'." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his body back down. "I'm sorry, I probably, wow, the discussion earlier, my brain is going places."

"Do you want me to put something else on?"

"No! I mean I'm gonna be fine. Just give me a minute. I'm sorry."

"Don't," She said raising a finger, "That was nice, I felt well like I was under a magic spell but in a fun good way."

That got him to focus on her, tilting his head looking a little puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Well there was being Prince Charming, I felt empowered by being the center of attention. Then later when that apple, well okay it made me evil, but I do remember feeling very sexy. Empowered. And right now, you're making me feel like I have power over you. Is that bad?"

He twisted his mouth in thought. "No. Not in this way. Allure. It's empowering. You probably thought I'd find that outfit cute."

"Yes." She nodded. "But not necessarily arousing, because I mean it's got teddy bears."

"Right," Now that they'd turned this into an intellectual discussion his awkwardness faded. "And I do, now.  But despite your tendency toward short skirts, you still manage to cover most of your skin.  Except for that one time.  Which has believe me, fed plenty of my um . . . . Well, back to this. But even then, you still had tights on. So there was that allure for me, wondering what your bare legs looked like."

"And so now you know."

"Yeah and that power you felt was pretty normal.  I'm sure you felt this way with your previous boyfriends, you probably just don't remember. And at some point, I'm sure I wield that power over you too. That's just the way attraction works. It's a good kind of power as long as you use it the right way."

"Which is why for you sex is nothing without love?"

He smiled gently. "Exactly." He bit his lip, "Attraction is physical, it's normal. I've felt attraction for people that I don't even remotely like."

"Like Lamia for example."

"Sure."

"It's a chemical reaction," Cassandra noted. She'd also noted that Jake was so much more comfortable speaking to her about this now then he had been earlier. Of course, he had no trouble speaking when it was theory and intellectual. This was Librarian Jake speaking to her.  The Jake Stone, the whole man who only showed himself to her, had much more difficulty.  She circled him, enjoying the look in his eyes, the man within appreciating her even as the man with out was still lecturing. "Chemistry.  And sex, well it is just biology.  And simple acts of biology would be distasteful to someone like you. Someone who craves the beauty and meaning of life."

He grinned at her, excited. "Exactly! To me, sex is an expression of love. Beauty and meaning to a biological act."

"So was there true beauty and meaning with the women you were only half of yourself with?" Cassie slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh God Jake, I didn't mean to ask that. This was meant to be in theory and I got carried away."

Jake took her hand and led her over to her sofa. "I thought there was at the time. Which is another reason why I'm trying to go slow here Cassandra. You're the only one besides my mamma who has ever seen me. The real me. All of me. And to give that all to you, completely . . ." And now her private Jake was back, stumbling over his emotions.

"Is frightening." She nodded.

"Terrifying.  I'm falling oh so very hard for you."

She nodded, tears springing to her eyes. "I am too."

She pulled him into her arms. "I'm sorry, I was so excited that I was getting you to talk about this, that I went too far."

"It's alright. Like I said I have to be in love or at least think I am. And with you, there's no foolin' myself, with you, it's love or nothin'. Do you understand now? "

"I do. And now I know we need to go slow. I'm scared too. I'm afraid to let you down again. You're giving me this gift and Jake, I don't know if I can handle it. What if I hurt you?"

"Didn't she say we'd hurt each other?  That the road would be tough but we'd get through."

She nodded and then yawned. "I am so tired and emotional."

His expression changed to worry, "Is a headache coming on?"

"I think I can head it off if we go lie down."

"Alright," He gently detangled them and helped her to her feet. "I think we both need sleep."

* * *

 

Her bedroom was, well, it was as if Cassandra had exploded in a room. Quirky, comfortable, very feminine. The bed was piled high with pillows and after he looked at them, she tossed a few onto the floor.

"Plenty of room now."

Even though she'd promised him cuddling before, he found himself lying apart from her, she was as far as she could get away from him.

"Cassandra . . . ."

"I should have put on more clothes. Too much skin . . .Skin, hide,leather,cows, milk, milkshake. Mmm chocolate milkshake. . ."

"Cassie . . . focus."

She turned toward him in the dim light of her bedroom. "Chocolate milkshake. I'm drinking a chocolate milkshake and thinking about you and then you're there and you hold me. And I feel . .. comfort. Comfort."

He nodded, grabbing one of her hands, "Touch isn't just sexual. You know that. Healing, soothing, comforting.  We both want the comfort right now, so please come over here. Pretend it's my couch."

She snuggled up to him and he ran a gentle soothing hand over her forehead until she dozed off. He was so tired, but he made a mental note to talk to Cassie when they woke up. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea for her to use memories of them to get her out of a spell. He groaned softly. The part of him that loved her was well, flattered and pleased by it. That tiny bit that was being stubborn was muttering something about Baird and Jones and keeping things separate.

_Everything I do always comes back to bite me in the ass._

_Go to sleep_ , his mind urged him. _You're tired and not thinking straight._

He pulled Cassie tighter, breathing in her scent, let her warm softness wash over him. And then he let himself go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent time today rewriting this because I wrote it at 1am and it just wasn't quite right. Not sure about the voices here, but the ideas are sound in my version of Jake/Cassandra (set in the "future").


	3. The Weekend Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo during one of last night's episodes we find out that Cassandra found out about her tumor at 15. Which makes the line in the first chapter about her previous lovers kinda squicky. That's the problem with writing while a new show is ongoing, things get changed pretty quickly. So let's just pretend that that line never happened.

He woke up a few hours later. It was quite dark in Cassandra's bedroom and he squinted over at the clock on her nightstand.  Seven o'clock.  He was also alone.  That wasn't all that pleasant, really, he'd have liked to have woken up with her still in his arms. He sighed, rolling over on to his back and stretching his arms over his head.  He could hear noises from outside the bedroom door and could smell what he thought was spaghetti sauce.

He rolled over to the edge of the bed trying to find his shoes in the dark. He wasn't exactly sure where the light switch was and Cassie didn't seem to have  a bedside lamp. A stray thought about getting a book light for when he stayed over crossed his mind. 

"Don't get ahead of yourself," He muttered. "Why are they not here?"

He gave up with a sigh. He had socks on and Cassie's apartment was fairly warm. He got up and shuffled toward the bedroom door.  He didn't remember them shutting it when they went to sleep, so Cassie must have closed it when she got up. It muffled noises fairly well because he opened the door and heard music coming from her kitchen.

Cassandra had the radio on softly singing slightly off key to some pop song.  She was barefoot, still in her pajamas, chopping vegetables and adding them to a pan.

She was so focused that she didn't notice him. He stood quietly just watching her.

_I could come home to this. Come home to this for the rest of my life. Gladly._

Except

_We could spend the rest of her life together. But not mine. Not ours._

It hung over them. Hung over them as much as his own issues with trust and self did. She kept telling him they had time, she'd already lived for over 15 years with it. She could have 15 more or 20 or . . . .

Or they could get killed next week saving the world.  What they did was dangerous. They had more of an advantage then a lot of the Librarians. They had Baird and they had each other.  But still, it wasn't as if it was a job that you retired from at 65 with a pension. You were lucky to be burnt out and had enough.

_Stop it Jacob Stone, look at her.  She looks at her death in the mirror every day. And what does she do? She puts a smile on and she goes and lives.  Why are you holding back on that woman for?_

The off key singing was picking up in volume, she must really like the song. She'd finished chopping and gave the pot a stir. She put the spoon down and did a twirl around the kitchen.

That's when she saw him standing there, softly smiling at her. She blushed.

"Oh you're awake! I was hungry but I didn't want to wake you."

"It's okay. Kinda missed you, but this is a very pretty picture to walk into."

She danced over to him and kissed him. "Pasta okay?"

"It sounds perfect Cass." He laughed. "I'm sorry you are so damn cute."

"Well um thank you?"

"Do you need help?"

"Depends how hungry are you?"

"Strangely starvin'."

"I know! Saving the world. We don't properly eat for it.  Garlic bread?"

"I'm on it."

As they worked to finish dinner, the thought occurred to Jake that the same reason his head was holding back was for the same reason his heart wanted to move forward.

_There was no walkin' away from Cassandra Cillian.  This is for keeps._

No matter how long or short that was.


	4. The Weekend Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two goofballs. Well you'll see. Gotta have humor to lighten the mood sometimes. This is also a bit of a short one, but anyway, enjoy!

"It's no use, Cassie," Jake's voice was irritated.

"It's not the sofa's fault Jake."

"It's a beautiful sofa darlin'," He looked down at the prim velvet sofa, barely bigger than a loveseat. "But it's not the least bit comfortable. Especially not for both of us. And I am too full to lie on the floor."

"I don't have another television. "

Jake sighed.  "There's nothin' for it, we're gonna have to go back to my place. Go pack a bag, you're spendin' the night."

"Oh I am am I?" Cassandra tried to look stern but failed because she kept grinning.

"I told you, I'm spendin' every second of this weekend with you. Who knows when we'll get another day off."

"Okay," She said, acting like he'd spent an hour convincing her of his point. He laughed at her as she skipped down to her bedroom.

* * *

 

She didn't take very long, which surprised him. But then Cassandra was way more organized then him. She probably had all her clothes by outfit and her makeup arranged just so. 

She opened a door in the little curio in between her kitchen and the small living room and grabbed a couple of medication bottles.  He did wonder how she managed to keep up with those too with the life they lead. He supposed being very organized would be a good thing in this instance.

Another stray thought occurred to him as he watched her zip up her bag. Well two actually one involved where the hell his shoes were. But the other was much more important.

"Cassie?"

"Mmmhmm?" She was taking inventory of her belongings.

God this was embarrassing, but it was probably better just to burst out with it. "Are you on the Pill?"

She looked up at him, slightly startled. But she figured with everything else they'd been talking about . . . .  It was a complicated answer but she decided to be simple with it. "No, with my medications it wouldn't work. I had a bad reaction to another method and well . . . . I've considered having surgery but I haven't gone through with it yet. Pregnancy wouldn't be a good idea."

"Oh."

Cassie bit her lip, misreading his reaction. "I'm sorry Jake, I never thought I'd be in a regular relationship. Never thought that children would be a factor that should have been brought up earlier."

"No, that's  not. Not an issue. Look, I like kids. Love 'em. Love my nieces and nephews.  And if a future with you meant children, then I'd embrace it. But don't think it's a make or break for me. This life we live . . . .  Besides, can you imagine? We'd have some genius baby winning science fairs before he could walk and telling museum curators where to go by the time he was five. We'd be exhausted."

Cassandra chuckled softly, a little sadly. "That actually . . . ."

"Cassandra, don't. " He crossed the room to her, holding her close. "I meant to make you laugh."

"It's not fair, Jake."

"No, it's not. That thing in your head is not fair. The fact that we have to even think of these things is not fair. None of this is fair." He put his hand on her chin to tilt her face up to look at him. "But we are together for a reason. Fate or magic or just plain good luck. And all I want is you."

Cassandra was teary. "Even though I can't give you a baby or forever or . . . ."

"There's always hope, Cassandra, some day. But if not, it doesn't matter.  I thank my lucky stars every day for you. Every day I get to spend with you is a gift.  And that's enough for me. I love you, Cassie."

Cassandra was in full out tears then and Jake was terrified for a minute. "Why you cryin'?" He asked his voice rough with emotion.

"Happy tears." She said, her smile suddenly so bright it was like a beacon on a foggy night. "I love you too, oh I love you too."

Jake put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her.  She actually expected passion, but what he gave her was gentle. Loving, sweet, a repeat of their first kiss. The kiss that had tasted of strawberries and sunshine and had smelled of so many things that reminded her of happiness.

When he pulled away he chuckled, "You know what else is not fair Cass?"

"What?"

"I can't make love to you because I don't have any damn condoms."

"Oh," Her hand went to her mouth, "That's why the reaction earlier."

"Uh huh. I didn't, well, I don't . . ."He scratched the top of his head. "I mean after Emma left I didn't really keep them on hand, because you know. But I should have at least been a little optimistic in this case.  Considering.  Every time though, some damn thing happens and I never get to the drugstore."

She laughed. "How about tomorrow morning? I'll go with you.  We'll be embarrassed together. And magic better not try to take over the world!"

"Right, so, one more night. We can do this. Besides all that pasta."

"Yeah," Cassandra threw a sweater on over her tank top, he noticed she'd put her usual boots on. She started for her keys when he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Uh Cass?"

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell are my shoes?"


	5. The Weekend Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend continues, with a little bit of intimacy and the trip to the drugstore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to turn this story into a series of shorts. There is one more chapter to Jake and Cassandra's weekend to come after this. Then it'll be probably mostly one shots providing glimpses of their lives in between saving the world. This chapter contains a little mild sexual content. I wanted to keep the T rating and love scenes aren't my forte. So I hope this provides just enough . . . .

_We need to stop_ . . . The one part of Jake's brain that was still functioning started yelling at him. Cassandra was draped across his bare chest . . .and when had she taken his shirt off? Her lips though were doing really distracting things to his neck and he couldn't quite remember why this was a really bad idea.

"Cassie," He gasped, "We need to . . . " His words trailed off into a rather embarrassingly loud moan as her clever lips had found an extremely sensitive spot.  That did however, seem to get her to stop as she giggled against him.

"Cassandra, stop it." But he realized that he more moaned that then spoke it. This was not good. He moved his hands to her waist in order to roll them over. But in doing so he pulled her hips flush into his and they both gasped.

"Oh God," She moaned and it was all he could do not to buck into her. He was so hard and this was such a bad idea.  He took a deep breath and rolled them to the side, gently putting distance between them.

"Cassie, honey, we have to stop."

She was frustrated, he was sure she was as turned on as he was.  He pushed the hair away from her face as she mumbled an apology. "Don't darlin',  it wasn't just you." 

He thought about rolling away and quite a bit about a cold shower.  Then a better idea came to mind, he pulled her back into him and her eyes widened.

"Cassandra?" He put one hand under his chin making sure to get eye contact. This was important right now to establish trust. "I trust you. Do you trust me?"

"I always have," She looked really confused.

"Do you trust me right now to keep you safe?"

"What do you . . .Ohhh." Cassandra's experiences had been more limited than his, but he had a feeling she knew where he was going. She smiled. "I do."

"We can't umm. . ." He turned bright red, he was much better at showing then saying. "Fully, but I have quite the imagination.  I know a few really beautiful things we can do that are safe."

His Cassandra actually wickedly smirked at him. One tiny bit of the worst part of her that he really really liked.

"Speaking of beauty," He lifted the hem of her camisole, "May I?"

She giggled, letting him pull it off of her.

"Oh wow."  The last coherent thing he said to her was, "Do that thing you just did with your tongue again . .."

* * *

 

Jake was tapping his hands along his kitchen counter the next morning waiting for Cassandra.  He really did not want to leave his apartment but the errand they needed to run was more urgent than ever. The sooner they got done, the sooner he could get back to exploring his new favorite work of art in thorough detail.  Nothing on earth he'd ever seen had come close to how beautiful last night was. So in love that he should be terrified but he wasn't. She told him once that he was her anchor. Maybe that meant that she was his sail. Whatever she was, she filled him with peace.

"Hi," She broke into his thoughts appearing by his side. "Ready to go?"

"The sooner the better." He attempted a leer but he knew it came out as a love struck grin.

She went to kiss him but backed up and giggled.

"What? Is there somethin'?"

Cassandra flushed and touched her neck, then point to his. He looked at her funny, then went into the bathroom to look in the mirror.

"Oh hell, when did you do that?"

"I'm, um, pretty sure when you kept begging me not to um stop?" Cassandra said from the hallway. "I could try, uh makeup?  I don't think we're the same shade though."

"I'm not wearin' makeup Cass. Just," He sighed, "In the top drawer of the dresser, grab me a scarf."

* * *

 

"Okay, in and out, we can do this."

Cassandra giggled. "Jake, suddenly you're Baird and we're on a case!  Stop it. Besides we're also out of beer. And I need a couple of other things.  It's not a big deal."

"I know. I'm just kinda wired and stupid."

"You get the beer and the you know . . ." She shook her head at herself for acting like a teenager. "And I'll get my stuff and I'll meet you at the front."

Cassandra wandered off to makeup and he went to the cooler. That was the easy part. Grabbed a six pack and then took a deep breath.

 _Why are there so many_?  He sighed. It'd had been a couple of years but it seemed like they'd multiplied.   _Just grab the ones you used to use and then go find Cassie, you idiot._

His hand reached out for a package when over his shoulder he heard. "Well hullo there, Stone."

"Jones . . ."


	6. The Weekend Part 6-Final Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion to "The Weekend."

Jake froze, thinking for a moment about a cover story.  _Jones will just see through it anyway. This is about you and Cassandra and it's none of his business. Just grab the damn condoms and go._

Jake snagged the package and faced his colleague. "Hello Jones."

Jones popped his gum. "Practicing safe sex, good for ya mate."

Jake glared at him, the type of glare that might have made an Okie barfly back down.  But they weren't Ezekiel Jones.

"So, sounds like you're having a better weekend then me."

"Shouldn't you be, I don't know, out  . . . ."Stone gestured wildly. "Anywhere but in my face?"

"Hey, I'm just here getting snacks," Jones gestured to the bag of pretzels in his hand. "I thought I saw you."

"Well you saw me, now can you just go now?"

"Oh, So," Jones winked, "The lucky lady is here then."

Jake started mentally counting to ten, he'd barely gotten to six when what he was afraid of happened.

"Jake? Are you done? Oh . . ."Cassandra's voice trailed off when she saw Ezekiel. "Oh hi Ezekiel. Um. . . ."

Ezekiel just started laughing.  He nearly doubled over, then he pointed from one to the other. They were both having a blushing contest.

"Yeah, just laugh it up fuzzball," Jake muttered.

"Star Wars reference for the win there mate," Jones said catching his breath. "Oh my, your **FACES**. Priceless.  We all know about you two."

"You do?" asked Cassandra.

"Not that you're not really obvious, but Baird won 50 bucks in the pool after that sculpture case."

"You had a **POOL**??" Now Jake's voice had gone from irritated to 'you have one second before I punch you in the throat'.

Jones picked up the pretzels he'd dropped while laughing and scampered up the aisle, "See you on Monday love birds!" He yelled over his shoulder.

Jake turned to Cassandra, anger flushing his features.  But it changed when she just shrugged and quietly laughed.  He shook his head.

She laid her head gently on his shoulder for just a moment and he smiled down at her, appreciating the gesture.

"Let's get out of here sweetheart."

* * *

 

"I guess I should have realized that if Baird knew, Jones would." Jake grumbled back at his apartment.

"Well, on the plus side, we don't have to worry about running into him anymore."

"Good point," Jake sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated. I thought they were our friends." He sat heavily on the couch.

Cassandra shook her head and bit her lip. "They are. They were just having fun."

"You knew!"

"About the pool? Yeah, I heard Ezekiel and Baird making a bet, then Jenkins threw in some money. And Flynn too. Oh and I put 5 bucks on . . ."

"Cassandra Cillian!"

She giggled.  Then she crossed the room and straddled his lap. She heard his breath suddenly come a little heavier. His expression changed from annoyance to interest.

"So exactly when did you put money on?"

"Your birthday, I only missed it by a week."

"Hmm, well that was a really good birthday . . . ." He tugged her head down so he could kiss her.

As the kiss deepened, Jake found himself completely forgetting about his co-workers.  All he was aware of was the woman in his arms.  Between kisses, both heavily breathing, Cassandra was working the buttons on his shirt.  The hand that wasn't bracing her on his lap was edging its way up her skirt, gently caressing.

"Cassie," He muttered as she worked his shirt free of his jeans. "Bedroom right now. We're not gonna do this the first time on the couch."

One last kiss, she slid off his lap, grabbing the box of condoms off the table. She walked slowly down the hallway, hips swaying, him following his eyes riveted on her. Cassandra had learned her power over him this weekend and he let her enjoy herself. He was certainly enjoying watching her embrace her sensual side.

* * *

 

He'd thought he'd been in love before, thought he'd seen sex be a beautiful as it possibly could be. But he'd never trusted someone with all of him, every inch of himself until Cassandra.

 Now she knew why it had been a slow process getting to this point.

And she knew what he meant about how beautiful sex could be when you were in love.

She gasped something about chocolate and roses and he wished just once he could experience things like she did.

But when she'd cried out, "I wish you could see all of the colors . . . ." right before she lost the ability to do anything but moan and feel, he whispered, "I can, Cassie, I can." And then he joined her in a free fall of color and light and sensation.

* * *

 

A while later, she asked him, wide eyed and confused, "Did you really see all those colors?"

He nodded. "Yes and I can honestly tell you, that's never happened before. But I hope to hell it happens every time."

"But I'm the one who . . ."

He cradled her head tenderly in the palms of his hands. "Magic, Cassandra, magic." Then he kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This brings the story of Jake and Cassandra's weekend off to a close. But don't worry, there's more to this tale, glimpses of their attempts to balance a relationship with saving the world.


	7. Old Ways Best Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When all of the team are injured on a case, Jake blames himself because he was distracted by his feelings for Cassandra. Baird attempts to set him straight.

All it took was one moment. A momentarily lapse in judgment.  A beam of sun coming through ancient windows illuminating the hair of the woman he loved.  Stone hadn't meant to let his guard down, to kiss her, to forget that they were in danger but he'd let beauty and emotion sweep him away.  For a moment too long . . . .

And then the Serpent Brotherhood had attacked. 

Now his arm was in a sling and he sat by Cassandra's hospital bed waiting for her to wake up.  He had one ear toward the door for Jones to come report on Baird's condition. Jones was a bit bruised but he'd come out the best. They'd won, if this could be considered winning. But Baird had been stabbed and Cassandra had been thrown against a wall very hard. Both women were expected to be alright but still, Stone blamed himself. 

"Jake?" Cassandra's voice was weak, a little confused.

"Right here sweetheart," he took her hand in his good one.

"Are you okay? Baird? Ezekiel?"

"Sprained my shoulder, I'll be fine, a little sore. Jones just got banged up." He sighed, "Baird got stabbed but they said it was a shallow wound, she'll just need stitches."

"And me?"

"You scared me half to death, you hit that wall so hard and didn't wake up. But the doctors are saying just a lot of bruises, maybe a mild concussion. You'll be just fine."

There was some edge of bitterness and desperation in Jake's voice that made Cassandra tilt her head and look at him.  But before she could ask a question, Jones came in.

"Baird's done and she's in full mama bear mode. Just thought I'd warn ya."

Baird burst in the room, "Cassandra! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine I think," she looked at Jake.

"I'm gonna get a doctor," he mumbled backing out of the room.

"Is he okay?" Cassandra asked Baird. 

Baird thought back to the aftermath of the battle, Jones pressing a cloth against her side. Stone, hissing through his own pain, muttering about how it was all his fault and begging Cassandra to wake up.

"I think he will be." Baird sighed. "I think I know what's troubling him and it's a little bit my fault. I'll talk to him."

* * *

 

Cassandra didn't have a concussion and it wasn't too long until they were all back at the Annex and headed home. Jones and Baird helped Cassandra back to her apartment as Stone couldn't.  But it wasn't too long after Jones and Baird left for their own ice packs and pain killers that Jake made excuses to leave.

"Jake? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Cassie," though his voice sounded irritated. "I just hurt like hell and I want to take one of those pain killers and go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, okay? With this shoulder, we'll only bother each other if I stay here tonight."

Cassandra looked a little distressed and his face softened. His anger wasn't toward her, but himself. He kissed her tenderly on the forehead. "Go to sleep, sweetheart."

He tucked the blanket around her with his good hand. "I love you." Cassandra murmured.

"I love you too." His voice caught and he swallowed hard. "Good night, honey."

* * *

 

He shut off her light and locked the door behind him with his key.  When he got upstairs to his own apartment, he found Baird leaning against the wall beside his door.

"Baird."

"I figured you wouldn't stay with her.  And so that's why we need to talk."

"What I do with my own girlfriend on my own time is none of your business." Stone growled.

Baird glared at him, the kind of glare that made men quake. Stone couldn't quite keep up with it. "Come in, damn it."

"I understand why you're upset," Baird said from his sofa.  Stone was pacing the room trying to figure out a way to get her to leave. His shoulder did hurt like hell and his heart hurt even more.

"Really? Really? Do you Baird?" He all but yelled. "She got hurt because of me!"

"Stone . . . ." Baird got up and walked over to him. "I'm your Guardian. My job is to protect all of you. The Serpents getting the jump on us was my fault. Why do you think it's your fault? I don't understand."

"I . . ." Stone looked at the floor. "She looked so damn beautiful in that light. I wasn't paying attention, I just kissed her. . .They took us by surprise. You were right, we can't let our feelings get in the way of work. And I thought I could. But I can't let her go either, Baird. What do I do?"

Baird let out a gentle sigh. "You know I love Flynn right?"

Stone swallowed. "I assumed so. No one wanted to ask. You do your job without . . . ."

"Stone, I'm a trained soldier. And you are not. None of you are. Like Cassandra once reminded me. My job is to protect. Your job is to seek. And yes, I did tell you to be careful about being distracted. But would you be so angry if your distraction was a piece of artwork instead of kissing Cassandra?"

"I'd be a little annoyed at myself, but I suppose you have a point."

"Or if Cassandra had had a spell or Jones decided to grab something? Or I shot when I shouldn't have? We're human, Stone.  I know you were terrified today. But you can't blame yourself for a moment of being human. You love her. It's a beautiful thing."

"But you said . . ."

"I should have been clearer. I was more referring to you not wanting to work with anyone else.  I know you two make a great team, you always have. But sometimes I do need you elsewhere. That's all." Baird put her hand on his good shoulder. Gently she said, "This was not your fault. I know you're in pain right now, so take those pills and get some sleep. Then talk to Cassandra, she's worried about you."

He nodded. "Thank you."

"Any time. " She winced. "Now I have a date with my own bed and a pain killer. Good night . . . Jake."

"Night, Eve." He opened the door and that gentleman in him watching in the hallway until she was safely in her own apartment.

He sighed, looking back at his bedroom. He should just go to bed. But . . .

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, he found himself back in Cassandra's apartment.  Cassandra seemed to be asleep curled up into a ball on one side of her bed.  He'd taken one layer of shirt off, rather painfully and changed to pajama pants upstairs. He took one of the pain killers and gingerly slipped into bed.

"Jake?"

"Yes darlin'?"

"Just checking," she rolled over to face him. "I thought . . ."

"I didn't want to sleep without you." He was laying on his back, his good shoulder toward her. "I'm sorry."

"Shh," she laid her head on his good side. "Just go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."


	8. Old Ways Best Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Cassandra have a conversation. Conclusion of Old Ways Best.

"Are you upset with me?" Cassandra asked the next morning. They were eating breakfast that mostly consisted of toast.  Jake was itching to make omelets because he really wanted to chop something, but obviously he couldn't in his condition.

"No," His voice was sharp and he immediately regretted it. "No, I was angry with myself. Not you, never you."

"Why are you angry with yourself? I don't understand."

Jake stared at her, his blue eyes filled with a mix of anger, disgust and shame. Not directed at her but the intensity, suddenly she was taken back to the previous day.

_She was standing in the sunlight, watching as Jake mumbled to himself looking at a tapestry on the wall of the ancient castle.  Then he turned to tell her something about it._

_She couldn't remember now what his point had been, other than it was important to the case. But she couldn't forget the look in his eyes as he suddenly trailed off, looking at her.  His expression full of awe, like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.  Sometimes in intimate moments, he claimed she was._

_She remembered being mesmerized by his stare, as he came closer to her, both of them spellbound by that moment.  He'd cupped her face gently and then kissed her.  A reverent kiss, a cherishing one, like she was made of the sunlight that surrounded them._

_And that's when all hell had broke loose._

His voice startled her from her thoughts, "You got hurt because of me."

"How? Jake, I remember, the Brotherhood attacked you first, you were on the ground and that big one . . ." Cassandra closed her eyes, remembering Jake crying out in pain despite himself and her attempts to run to him. "I ran at them foolishly to keep you safe, that's when they threw me. It's my fault I got hurt. I know better, but they were hurting you."

"Cassie, I don't even . . ." His voice trailed off.  He didn't remember. The big one had stomped on his shoulder and he barely had been able to remain conscious. All he'd remembered through the haze of red was the sick thud of Cassandra hitting that wall. By that point, Baird and to a lesser extent Jones had gotten the situation back in their favor.  "I don't remember. Did you think I was upset with you for running in?"

She nodded.

"Oh darlin', I was upset because I thought the Brotherhood attacked us because I was kissin' you and not payin' attention." His voice had gone completely hoarse with emotion. "And you're upset with you for tryin' to help me."

She nodded, tears starting to trickle down her face. "We need to stop doing this Jake."

He nodded, taking a step forward and brushing the tears off her face with his good hand. "Baird basically told me that last night."

"Baird?"

"Yeah, she was waitin' outside my door. I was afraid she was gonna dress me down. But she was kind. Told me I shouldn't beat myself up for bein' human."

"You shouldn't. "

"And neither should you. Look, Cassie, I never really thought about it before. My need to protect you is strong .  . ."

"So is mine to protect you. I know I'm not very strong but . . ."

"You're brave, so very brave." Jake whispered, curving his arm around her. "So much braver then any of us."

"Jake, I'm not, you and Baird, even Ezekiel, Flynn."

"You get up in the morning and I know you look your death in the eye. And every morning you put on a smile, a real one, not a fake one. And you live your life. You are brave. More brave than I would be.  And I've waited a long time to apologize to you for bein' an ass about it. Not forgivin' you like you needed my forgiveness."

"I, Jake that's behind us."

"Yeah, but me bein' an ass is not.  I should have just told you last night that I was upset with myself and I needed to brood. Instead I scared you."

"And I should have apologized to you as well. If we talked, we'd have realized we had two different viewpoints of what happened."

"Don't ever apologize for tryin' to protect me, you're my prince Charming," Jake chuckled. "I need to remember you have my back."

"Always Jake.  Even when we're not together."

"Baird talked to you."

"Yeah, she was afraid that you wouldn't get around to it.  She said that sometimes she was going to need us apart.  That it wasn't a judgment, it was just the best thing for a case.  Reminded me that it's her job to protect you, not mine."

"Same here. " He sighed. "I think I'm goin' to have to tell her to hit me if she sees me bein' an ass again."

Cassandra giggled but pressed a kiss to his nose. "We just need to tell each other things. That's all.  Promise?"

"I promise. No more keepin' things from each other. And we do have to try to keep the distractions down."

"I know," Cassandra nodded. "But we're only human Jake. Sometimes you get swept up in a moment."

"You looked so beautiful . . . ." Jake mused, thinking back.

She smiled, then winced as he'd pulled her tighter.

"Oh, sorry I forgot. We're both hurtin'."

"Yeah, how about we go upstairs to your much comfier couch and I don't know watch some mindless movie marathon? See if Baird and Ezekiel are around. We can all just have a big pity party."

"That actually sounds like fun. You are a bad influence on me. Makin' me want to spend time with the co-workers."

Cassandra's laughter, like music to his ears, rang out in the hallway and carried them upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely happy with the way this came out, but I hit some key points. A relationship is a ongoing process (words of wisdom passed on to you from someone who has been married for 19 years) and all problems can't be solved in one conversation. But I think they'll try to remember to not assume things in the future.


	9. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just what it says on the tin, this is just a one shot.

Jake sighed to himself as he finished logging an artifact into the card catalog. Here it was Valentine's Day and not only was he doing busy work in the Annex but due to the last mission, he'd totally forgotten to make a reservation for dinner. There was no way they were going to get a table anywhere now.

In a way, it was a good thing. He was not a suit guy and though he had a passion for cooking and watching cooking shows, he'd never really developed a taste for little gourmet bites. Sure, he made stuff that could be considered fancy but it was in an Oklahoma sized serving.  But hell at this point, he'd even ruined chances at a casual restaurant.

Cassandra had a vase of roses on her desk, the result of his last minute stop at a grocery store that morning.  She was wearing a cute little pink dress with a red and white heart print. Where did she find this stuff? And how did she look both adorable and sexy at the same time in them?

"You okay?" She asked behind him.

"Besides the fact that I screwed up and forgot it was Valentine's Day until this morning?"

"We were busy.  Saving the world is more important." Cassandra was being practical.  He had a feeling that Valentine's Day wasn't her big thing. No, that was Christmas and had more to do with what she'd been cheated out of as a child than anything else.

She moved away, picking up the book she'd come back by him to get.  They tried very hard to keep their relationship out of the workplace.  It wasn't a secret, but work was work. Besides both of them had sympathy for Baird's missing Flynn.  At least this morning a huge bouquet had appeared on Baird's desk and she seemed happier than she had been in weeks.

He tapped his pen on the table, it seemed like Cassandra wasn't really all that upset. Maybe he could just make her dinner tonight. He wanted to do something to acknowledge the day.  Tap tap tap. He noticed Jenkins glaring at him from across the room and stilled his movements.  Sighing, he looked at the desk trying to find something to pretend to be doing.  The thick book in front of him gave him a memory.  The fortune teller. . . And the day he decided to tell Cassandra how he felt. He remembered letting himself run with a daydream about their first date.

Which hadn't happened like that at all. Instead they'd kissed in his truck then ended up at a diner laughing over pie. It had been a wonderful first date, but he'd never actually taken her to that art museum or out dancing.

He looked at his watch, it was half past one and he knew the museum was open until 5. This could work, Cassandra might enjoy it. First he was going to have to track her down.  He found her on the second floor back in the stacks.

"Hey," he said coming up behind her.

"Did you finish what you were working on?"

"Yep, why don't we get out of here?"

"Like play hooky?"

_Deja vu_ , Jake thought and smiled. "I was thinking more of a date, but yeah hooky."

"I've never played hooky before, let's do it!  Where are we going?"

"I was thinking the art museum. Not sure how much you like art but they have a great Native American collection and I think you'd like it."

They wandered the three levels of the Native American collection at the art museum. Cassandra held his hand and listened quietly with wide eyes and a sweet smile as he described some of the collection.

When he'd gone off on a rant about a misinterpreted piece, she'd squeezed his hand and whispered, "Jake . . ."

He blushed. "Sorry, Cassandra. Wow, I just let myself get away from the point, didn't I?"

"I guess we both need to be there to catch each other."

"Yes we do. " He slid his arm around her shoulders and said, "Now this one . . ."

They stayed until closing exploring all they could of the fairly large museum.  Armed with souvenirs from the gift shop,  they made their way back to Jake's truck.

"So what now?" Cassandra asked settling in.

"Well, I know we're not going to get into any restaurant tonight but I know of a country-western bar. It's got fairly decent burgers."

She grinned at him, "I'm famished."

He and Cassandra had found they had similar tastes. She was a beer drinker though a little more sophisticated about her brews.  She liked burgers and French fries.  And they both liked to experiment with pizzas.  Of course, her favorite foods were breakfast foods, so more often than not they'd ended up at diners on their dates.

"I know it's not like unending pancakes or anything," he teased, pulling into the parking lot.

"Sometimes I like something else," she said, lightly swatting his arm.

Because it was Valentine's Day, the bar was sticking to the more romantic side of country music and as the night went on, the dance floor filled with couples two stepping.

After finishing their burgers and a couple of beers, Jake asked Cassandra if she wanted to dance.

"I don't know how . . .I mean I can dance sorta. But not um that."

"Two stepping.  Well, I know how," he tilted his head, "Kinda.  Well, let's give it a try, no one is going to care if we do it right anyway."

He led her over to a corner of the dance floor. "Okay, feet together, face me. Put your left hand on my right shoulder."  He put his right hand on her waist and bent his left arm out, "Now bend your right arm and put your hand in mine. There you go. Okay, now do the opposite of what I do."

"The opposite?"

"Yeah, if I step forward with my left, you step backward with your right. Like this." He stepped forward and Cassandra tried to step back but with the wrong foot. "No, honey, your right."

They practiced through the end of the song, Cassandra giggling and Jake trying really hard not to laugh. "Oh,  we are not good at this."

"No, but it's fun!"

"Yeah, you're right.  Okay, let's see if we can get it on this song. First beat I'll be going forward left quickly and you'll go?"

"Back right."

"Good girl."  He muttered through the beats, "Right forward, pause, left slow, oh Cassie, you've got it! Oh shit, I missed a beat."

She simply giggled and at that point, he just hauled her up against him, coaxing her arms around his neck. "Let's just do this.  I'm terrible at teaching."

"I'll watch a video at home and then next time you can just keep track of the beats."

"Are you having fun though? I feel like we're just doing stuff I like to do."

"I am. I like listening to you talk about art. You light up, you smile more, you're happy. And here, you're happy too.  You've been hurt so much,  Jake."

"Most of it was my own doing." He tugged her closer, buried his face in the fragrant strands of her hair. No one paid much notice to the couple swaying on the dance floor, they were too wrapped up in their own partners.

"Yes, but here with me, you can just be yourself. Jacob Stone, the art historian who likes a good beer and two stepping badly with his girl.  And I'm so honored to be the one you share yourself with, all of yourself."

At that he pulled away from her and beamed tenderly at her. "Let's get the tab settled and get out of here."

"Why?" she asked with a grin.

He moved his head so he could whisper in her ear. "Because I want to go home and make love to my girl."

She beamed and said nothing, just took his hand and led him off the dance floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of The Librarians being picked up for season 2 (yay!) I decided to post this today instead of Friday or Saturday as planned. In case anyone is wondering, this series is kinda placed currently in a neverland between Rule of Three and Loom of Fate. So kinda AU at this point. Also I gave up trying to figure out how much time has passed in the season, so just go with it being their first Valentine's Day. :) Also yeah, I've never been to Portland, but I did find out they have a huge Native American collection. Also I looked up how to two step, so I think I got at least the basics. I live in Texas but am not a native and I've never two stepped myself. So I hope I did it enough justice.


	10. Postcards from Paris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Cassandra have a long overdue talk about what happened in Collins Falls.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Jake, I have a coat rack."

From inside the kitchen, Jake mumbled something about already having his hands full. She sighed and picked up his dark wool coat from where he'd tossed it across one of her kitchen stools.   As she shook it out to hang up on her coat rack, some papers fell out of the pocket. 

"Oops."  Cassandra leaned down to pick them up.  They were actually cards, old postcards from the look of them. Of Paris?  She shuffled through them, puzzled.

Jake cleared his throat behind her.  And she turned, blushing slightly.

"They fell out of your coat. I shouldn't have been looking at them. Umm . . . ."

His expression was guarded, the way it used to be with her.  She couldn't tell if he was angry with her or not.  Then he gently said, "Well, go ahead and ask."

"Why do you have old postcards in your coat?"

"They were Mabel's." He braced himself for her response;  they never spoke of Mabel or what had happened with her.

"Oh?" Cassandra wasn't quite sure what to say.  She had been jealous of the other woman, but possibly not in the way that Jake might think she'd been.

"She . . . she always wanted to go to Paris. She kept a collection of postcards and she would pretend she'd gone. It was . . . " Jake looked pained. "What we talked about when she . . .left.  It hurt, I'm not going to lie, that electric field was pretty much the worst thing I've ever gone through. So we played a game, pretended we'd gone to see all those places."

Cassandra softly said, "You went to Paris that night.  Ezekiel and I asked you out for a drink and you were wearing this coat. Said you had somewhere else to be.  Baird said you'd left a note on the door and you came back in the morning."

"Yeah, I made a promise more to myself than to her that I wouldn't let life pass me by anymore. So I went to Paris."

Cassandra gave him a tiny smile then pressed the postcards into his hand. "Baird told me she left a note for a future Librarian, so there's still hope that Mabel can be saved.  I'm going to . . ." she waved her hand. "Start dinner."

Jake made a soft sound and then touched her arm. "Cassie, wait."

"Jake, no, you and Mabel . . . . I don't need to hear about what happened.  She was important to you and she's gone. There's no need to bring it up."

"Cassandra . . . ."

"Jake, I wasn't jealous. Or at least not in the way you think I was. Or am. I don't want to get into a fight over someone who you're never going to see again. I'll give you a minute.  I'll be in the kitchen."

She stepped away but she could feel Jake's eyes on her.

"Paris is the reason I decided to tell you how I felt."

She stopped. "But .  .  ."

"I know it was weeks later but that's what started everything.  Sit, I think we need to talk about Mabel."

Cassandra took a deep breath but followed him to her loveseat.

When they were sitting down, they both looked awkward for a moment.

Then Cassandra blurted, "I was a little jealous."

About the same moment, he blurted, "I did kiss her."

Cassandra winced and Jake took her hand. "I wanted to be honest with you, I'm sorry for saying it like that."

"We weren't together yet.  .  . ." Cassandra said softly trying to sound like it didn't bother her.

Jake squeezed her hand. "And yet, if you'd made a similar admission, I'd feel like you just did. I'm sorry, sweetheart.  I just need you to know that I love you."

"I know you do."

"And I wasn't in love with Mabel."

"If we'd been able to save her? Would that have made a difference for us?"

Jake was quiet, thinking, stroking his thumb across the back of her hand.  "I don't know.  I already had feelings for you but I was keeping you at arm's length. For reasons I kept telling myself were good ones."

"Mabel would have been the safer choice," Cassandra said softly, looking at their joined hands and not him. "You had a lot in common. You seemed to give your trust so easily to her. Even after . . . ."

"I found out she lied to me?" Jake's tone was just the tiniest bit bitter. "I know.  And I know that hurts you more than anything else.  I still don't know why I was able to trust her.  Except maybe because deep down I knew she and I weren't meant to be."

"Even if I hadn't been wrong?"

"Oh Cassie, she would have lit out to find her life without me. I couldn't follow her, being a Librarian means too much to me. And eventually she would have realized I was in love with someone else anyway."

"Wait, what?"

"Damnit, Cassandra, I've been in love with you since the minute I laid eyes on you.  Didn't you notice?"

Cassandra blinked away sudden tears.  "But then why . . . ."

"Because I was trying so hard not to be!  There were so many reasons why it was a bad idea. So many reasons I forgot when I just gave in to how I felt about you."

"You've told me some of them.  Even now sometimes you're still a little scared of letting someone really know you, of one of us getting hurt, of me dying . . . ."

"All of that, yes."

"So Mabel helped you see . . . us?"

Jake considered the question. "Well, in a way?  I was attracted to her because I saw myself in her.  Stuck in a small town, watching life pass you by. I had a few opportunities here and there to get away, working the pipeline in Alaska, New Orleans, a few other places. But I always ended up back in Oklahoma. Poor Mabel was literally trapped.  But I didn't know that at first. I thought she was just like me, trapped by my own choices.  But I did kiss her after I learned the truth." He banged his head against the sofa. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this. I don't want to hurt you."

Cassandra shook her head. "You're not. Not really.  We weren't together.  So you kissed her?"

"Caught up in a moment. That's the problem with being a romantic . . . And kissing isn't . . . ."

"As connected with love as sex is with you?"

"Yeah," Jake blushed. "There's been more . . . ."

"Right."

He took a deep breath. "It was odd after it was over. She'd reminded me how old she really was, so maybe that was it. Or maybe it was because I knew then there was no future for us. Even if we'd succeeded. Mabel was a caged bird, she deserved to fly."

Cassandra nodded sadly. "She did."

"Cassie, don't.  You tried your best. I don't blame you and she didn't either."

"But they're all trapped . . . ."

"They were trapped no matter what.  Things just weren't meant to be.  Something else I learned."  He put his arm around her and drew her closer. "The right thing isn't always what I think it is. Collins Falls taught me that there are shades between black and white.  My life's always been right or wrong. But this time, right was saving thousands of lives at the cost of others. It helped me to understand you better."

"So you went to Paris for her?"

"For her. For myself. Because I shouldn't let my life pass me by anymore."

"So how was it?"

"Cold. Lonely.  I came very close to asking you and Jones to come with me actually. I shouldn't have gone alone." He shook his head. "We need to go, Cassandra. That and Rome. "

"I'd like that." She beamed.

"So while I was cold and lonely in Paris, I saw something that reminded me of New Orleans.  And that's when . . . ."

"Why New Orleans? When were you in New Orleans?"

"Two years ago, I worked four months down that way.  It was a great gig. I knew no one, so I'd spend all my free time exploring. I barely talked to anyone.  They all thought I was a loner, so I didn't have to hide. And that's when I met the fortune teller."

Cassandra's eyes grew wide. "Our fortune teller?"

He nodded. "I had put her mostly out of my mind until I met you."

"She was vague about you.  She said you were kind, serious, had difficulty trusting. I didn't realize until after the Labyrinth."

Jake smiled. "She was very specific about you. Quirky little redhead.  You got mad about me calling you a little lady and my heart just . . .  .well it bounded across the elevator and offered itself to  you. I've never in my life. . . ."

"I'm so sorry, Jake. Maybe if I'd known . . . ."

He shrugged. "The fortune teller warned me that you'd hurt me.  But I'd put her out of my mind. Tried to shove you out of my mind. Didn't do a lot of good because I was still in love with you. But I tried. Until New Orleans popped in my head again and everything she said.  A constant loop for weeks . . . ."

"You are stubborn, Jacob Stone."

"When I fall, I fall hard, Cassandra. I was in love with you, but not as much as I am now, if that makes any sense."

She nodded. "It does, it took me some time to fall completely in love with you too."

He kissed her forehead, then looked at his watch. "What time is it in Paris?"

She looked over. "4am."

"Huh, if we had a bite to eat and caught a nap . . . ."

"We could be eating breakfast in Paris?"

He smiled at her.  "Sounds absolutely perfect." Then he kissed her.


	11. Baby Business-Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Cassandra visit Jake's pregnant sister, resulting in a very interesting discussion about their dreams for the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came off of a tumblr prompt from coping-with-cophine on tumblr who wanted Jake and Cassandra babysitting a niece or nephew of Jake's. Well that sort of got away from me and now this will be at least a two shot. They will baby sit Jake's niece though in the next chapter!

"Annie, look . . ."Jake tried to stifle a sigh on the phone with his younger sister. "I know, I miss you too.  But even Dallas is a bit of a drive from where I'm at right now. "

He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked around the Annex hoping that no one would interrupt the argument he was having with her.  Annie was very pregnant with her second child and lived in Dallas.  She hadn't been able to come home for Christmas and now was using his fiction about working in a Texas oil field against him.

"Honey, look, okay, I know I have the weekends off but . . ." He sighed, his eyes lying on his girlfriend, who was eying him curiously from around a shelf. "I'm seeing someone.  We only get the weekends to see . . .Annie, I don't . . .I'm not ashamed of her or you! It's just it's a long drive and she probably . . ."

Cassandra's voice came around the shelf, "Who is that?"

"What?  Hang on Annie, my girlfriend just came over." He pressed 'Hold'. "My sister Annie. She lives in Dallas and she thinks I'm working in Texas. She's about ready to pop out a kid any day and wants to see me."

"Well, the clippings book has been silent . . .Unless . . ."

Jake paled, realizing what his reluctance sounded like. "I want you to meet them. It's just they can be very overwhelming . . .."

"And you don't want to put your costume back on." Cassandra said softly.

He nodded, looking very sad. "It's . . .I don't want to be who I was but I can't be who I am. Not with them. I love them.  I do. And I know they love me. But they never understood me, not a one of them."

"Is she easier than your brothers?"

"A bit, yes.  For Annie, I was always the sweet big brother.  She's kinda my favorite. Which is why this is killing me."

"Then we'll go see her this weekend, barring, you know, saving the world."

"What do I tell her if we cancel?"

"Your truck broke down? I got the flu? "

He nodded slowly then smiled at her. "Okay.  I should get back to her before she thinks I hung up."

"Hi Annie? I'm sorry.  I was asking her if she was up to the drive. And she said she was. So barring my truck breaking down or something, we'll be there Saturday.  Annie, no, we can stay in a hotel, we don't want to put you out. I promise, it'll be fine.  See you then. I love you too. Bye."

Jake sighed. "Well now we have to come up with a cover story for you. And an explanation for where my truck is."

* * *

 

Friday afternoon they were by the Back Door, bags packed for a weekend visit, and reservations made for a moderately priced hotel near Annie's house.  They'd decided to call Annie and explain that Jake's truck had gotten a flat a few miles from town and that they'd left it at the mechanic.  Easiest way to explain why they didn't have a vehicle.  They were still working on a cover for Cassandra.

"Okay, what about I just tell them I'm a librarian?  It's our go to cover."

"But," Jake sighed. "How would we have met?"

"Right because Jake doesn't go to the library."

Jake made a frustrated noise. "Cass . . ."

"Fine, fine." Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Oooh, I know we met at a diner.  I mean diners are kinda our thing anyway.  We kinda started our relationship in one, we went to one on our first date, we end up at one on a lot of our dates actually."

Jake nodded his head. "That could work. So we were both eating there?"

"Umm, how about my friend . . . ." She grinned. "My friend Eve owns one and I help her out sometimes. One night I was working and you came in.  The rest is history?"

"Alright." Jake frowned for a minute, then hugged Cassandra, kissing the side of her head. "Thank you for doing this for me. I know it bothers you."

"Well," Cassandra shrugged. "I mean I know we can't just tell people about the Library.  But it hurts me to see you have to do this."

Jake took a deep breath. "It does me too. Someday Cassandra, I'll be able to tell them. Just not today."

* * *

 

About a half an hour later, they were checked into their room and Jake called his sister.

"Yeah, I know.  Well, the good thing is we were like 5 miles down the road from the hotel.  So we're all checked in but we'll need a ride.  Okay, wow, I guess I should have realized . . . .We'll be downstairs in 15 then.  See you soon."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"I guess I didn't realize just how far along Annie is.  We might be meeting my newest niece or nephew this weekend.  Her husband is coming to get us since she's not feeling so hot. She thinks that means the baby's gonna come later today."

"Wow.  And you said they have a 3 year old?"

"Yep. Rosie.  Last time I saw her she was not quite 2 I think. It was the Christmas before last."

"Do all of your siblings have kids?" Cassandra asked as Jake fished around his bag for the gift he brought his niece.  "And you're the oldest?"

"Oldest son.  Two older sisters, two younger brothers and Annie's the youngest.  The girls and my brother Kyle have kids." He looked over at her, seeing the unasked question in her eyes. "I was waiting for someone that I couldn't find in Oklahoma."

She smiled sadly. "And . . . ."

"Hey," he set the gift down and crossed the room to her, pulling her into his arms. "We already discussed this.  I'm happy with you, no matter what our future holds. And I can't give up hope that we will have plenty of years together.  You do believe me right?"

She nodded just a little tearfully. "It's just there are days when I really wish we could have a baby.  Funny isn't it? I never . . .I was told when I was 15, too young to even want to think about a family. Then I never met anyone I wanted to have a family with.  Until you. . . and that thought of a little genius baby with blue eyes . . . ."

"And red hair." He murmured against her neck. "Yeah, I know.  I think about it too. I guess I can't stop my heart from yearning for something that I can't have. "

"I never had the surgery . . ."

"Cassandra," He backed up to hold her at arm's length, looking her straight in the eyes. "No, we are not risking your life for this. It's a pretty dream but you're what I want."

"No, what I meant was, I could produce an egg, we could use a surrogate. We could have a baby, our baby."

He just stared at her, his mouth moving,  but no words coming out.  She wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking but she just looked in his eyes.  She watched as shock and disbelief gave way to hope and just a little bit of joy.

Finally, he swallowed hard and spoke. "We'll talk about this again, okay?  Not today. "

She wiped her eyes. "You're right.  That's a serious discussion that would involve my future health and our relationship in general.  But I don't know why I didn't think of the option before. I guess I never had a real reason too."

He pulled her back into his chest, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I love you so much Cassandra. No matter what happens. I love you."

"I love you too. We should probably go meet your brother-in-law huh?"

"Yeah." His sigh ruffled the top of her hair and she nearly giggled at the sensation. "Here we go."

 


	12. Baby Business-Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie goes into labor and Jake and Cassandra babysit in the final part of Baby Business.

Cassandra liked Jake's sister and her husband.  Mike was soft spoken and quiet, an IT professional whose brown eyes shone with intelligence.  Inwardly Cassandra shook her head, how could Jake still hide when Annie had chosen a man like this?  To the Stones though, the baby had simply married well.  Annie was sweet and her blue eyes, identical to her big brother's, spoke of wit and hidden depths.  If Annie hadn't been distracted by the impeding birth, Cassandra was certain that a few questions would reveal a second genius in the Stone family.

Cassandra again wondered how Jake had missed this.  She knew that Annie was almost a decade younger than her brother, they couldn't have been all that close, even if she was his favorite.  Perhaps he'd always been busy thinking of her as a child and had not come to know the woman she became?

Then there was little Rosie.  She looked so much like her uncle that Cassandra's heart had clenched at the sight of her.  Jake hadn't been able to hide his gasp of shock and possibly awe.  He must have forgotten what his niece looked like. Or hadn't realized just how much she looked like him.

"Do you remember your Uncle Jake?" Annie had asked.  "This is Mommy's biggest brother."

Jake had chuckled at that. "Biggest brother? Well oldest anyway. You probably don't remember me sweetheart, but I brought you a gift."

Rosie had torn into the package and been very happy with the deluxe set of crayons Jake had given her. But then she'd noticed Cassandra and why she hadn't before, only the child knew.

"Who you?" She asked over the box of crayons.

"I'm Cassandra. I'm your uncle's girlfriend."

"Cass. . ."And then the child struggled with the name.

Cassandra smiled, the bright one that melted many a heart, "I had a hard time saying my own name when I was little. Your uncle calls me Cassie sometimes, so you can too."

"Do you wanna color Cassie?"

"I do." Cassandra smiled, joining Rosie at the coffee table.

Jake had been talking to his sister but trailed off to watch Cassandra's interaction with Rosie, his "fool in love" as he'd dubbed it grin on his face.

"This one's a keeper then?" Annie asked gently. "I know you thought Emma . . . ."

"I did. But it wasn't meant to be with Emma. I think it is with Cassandra.  She's well magic." Jake grinned at his own joke, hoping that his sister only took it as a figure of speech.

"So how did you meet someone like Cassandra on an oil rig?"

"Oh, I didn't. I met her in town. She's the town librarian."

Annie lifted an eyebrow at him. "You finally started using the library? Good for you."

Jake looked sheepish, hating the lie.  But he also recognized that this sister was different from the others. "I do now, Cassandra has me readin'.  But we actually met at my favorite diner. Her friend owns the place and Cassie helps out when she's in a bind. She was working one night when I came in. We couldn't stop talkin' . . ." Jake smiled, lost in the memory of their actual first date when they'd stayed talking in an all night diner until the sun had broke.  They'd had months of misunderstandings and dreams and hopes to go over.  And if he hadn't already been a little in love with Cassandra from the moment he met her, he would have been by the time morning came.

"You sound like you're happy." Annie smiled, wincing a little.

"I am. For the first time in a long time, perhaps ever.  . . ."Jake stopped suddenly. "Annie?"

"That's my back again.   Mike?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"I think we need to get my stuff together."

Mike nodded, having been through this all before. Jake, however, went pale.

"You're havin' the baby?"

"Yep.  Jake, I hate to do this to you, but could you and Cassandra watch Rosie?  At least until Mike's mother can get here? She still works and . . . ."

"Sure. It's fine."

"Hey, sweetheart?" Jake called for Cassandra, "Can I talk to ya a minute?"

"Sure." She smiled at Rosie and got up and crossed the room to her boyfriend.

"What's up?"

"Annie's havin' the baby."

Cassandra's eyes widened. "Like right now? How is she so calm?"

"I don't know. She and Mike are discussing this like they're goin' for groceries and I'm freakin' out."

"I see that.  So what does that mean for us?"

"I said we'd stay here and watch Rosie until her granny gets here."

"It'll be fine, Jake.  Think of it as practice." Cassandra grinned.

"She does look like me, doesn't she?  What one of ours might look like . . . ."

Cassandra smiled gently and went and sat next to Rosie.

* * *

 

Annie and Mike left shortly thereafter with a hug and a promise to their daughter that they'd be back soon with a new baby brother for her.

That got Rosie excited and she babbled on at length to Jake and Cassandra about her new baby brother.

"Do you have any idea what she's saying?" Cassandra whispered to Jake.

"Only kinda. I'm getting about every other word.  She is a bit easier to understand then some of my other nieces and nephews were at her age though."

Cassandra whispered, "I think Annie might be like you."

Jake's eyes widened but he nodded slowly. "I was so much older that I didn't really notice but she was the one who got straight As in school." Jake bit his lip and for a minute tears glistened in his eyes. Cassandra felt her heart go out to the boy who so felt that he had to fit in that he actively tried to get Cs. "It was easier for her. Girls could be smart, you know?"

"Plus she had three big brothers to protect her from bullies." Cassandra sighed.

"That too.  Hey Rosie, are you hungry?"

"Sketty?"

"Oh, your Aunt Cassie happens to be very good at spaghetti." Jake said with a smile.

Cassandra looked briefly startled by the sudden use of Aunt but regained herself. "It's the one thing I can make that's not breakfast."

"Oooh, I like breakfast." Rosie said.

"Yes, well, let's stick to spaghetti for now." Cassandra reached out for Jake's hand to get up off the floor. "Let's see what's in the kitchen, huh?"

They placed Rosie on a kitchen stool to supervise while Jake helped Cassandra make dinner.  There was some giggling as they tried to find ingredients, pans and utensils in an unfamiliar kitchen but soon things were going fairly smoothly.

"We should probably use short pasta if they have it, otherwise remind me to cut hers up." Jake murmured to Cassandra who was in the pantry.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it helps to have several nieces and nephews, I know little ones can choke sometimes. She may be past that stage but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Cassandra smiled at him, "I'm glad you kinda know what you're doing here."

"You're a natural Cass. Look at how you've charmed her."

They ate dinner and Rosie managed to make a minimum of mess. They'd just finished loading the dishwasher when Jake's phone rang.

"That might be Mike."

Jake ran into the living room to grab his phone. Cassandra took a paper towel and wiped Rosie's face.

He came back a few minutes later.

"Well, no baby brother yet,  though maybe soon. Mike's mama is having car trouble. I said we'd stay, if that's okay?"

Cassandra chuckled. "Well, we have no way of leaving anyway." She addressed Rosie, "Your uncle is silly."

Jake laughed at her. "Okay, you have a point. Wanna watch a movie, squirt?"

"Oooh, Tangled?"

"I love that one." Cassandra said with a laugh.

Jake sighed, but he figured he'd asked for it when he suggested a movie. With a three year old, he was going to get Disney, Sponge Bob or maybe animals. "How about you get your pjs on first?"

* * *

 

The movie ended and Jake had to admit he liked it. He'd laughed at the funny parts, squeezed Cassandra's hand during the boat scene and hugged Rosie when she gasped when Flynn nearly died. He knew the little one had probably seen the movie a dozen times but still.  But by the time the credits rolled, Rosie had fallen asleep, her head on Cassandra's shoulder.

His heart was in his throat as he looked over, Cassandra's face was turned toward the sleeping child. It reminded him oddly of how he felt when Cassandra introduced him to Santa Claus. Dumbstruck with awe at meeting the immortal and knocked sideways by the beauty of Cassandra's smile. He had been surprised then that Santa hadn't called him out on it, Jake could tell that the immortal knew about his not very well hidden feelings toward Cassandra.

Her eyes met his as she looked up. "What?" She whispered.

"Just taking in the moment. Like a bit of living art. We should probably get her to bed."

As relatively easy as taking care of Rosie had been, they both felt exhausted by the time they'd carried her in the room.  When Mike came home around ten, both Cassandra and Jake were dozing on the couch.

"Hey," Jake said coming awake. "Baby here?"

Mike nodded. "About an hour ago, baby boy, 7 lbs 6oz.  Annie was sound asleep when I left, I can bring you guys over in the morning.  Let me go get Rosie so I can take you back to your hotel."

"Oh, don't wake her up." Cassandra said drowsily. "We can call a cab."

"If you're sure . . . ."

"Enjoy your sleep, Mike." Jake said to his brother-in-law. "Okay, Cassie, Jones put this Uber app on my phone, did he tell you how to use it?"

* * *

 

The next day,  Jake and Cassandra got to meet his newest nephew.  The baby was named Shawn Jacob after each of their brothers.

"You're my favorite, Jakey, so . . ."

And despite a valiant effort, Jake had cried as he held his namesake. He'd tried to keep his head down so that neither woman could see but they both did.

That evening, Annie came home with the baby.  Rosie was overjoyed to meet her little brother.

"She's going to be a great big sister," Cassandra said to Annie.

Annie smiled. "I wish you too could stay longer."

"It's a long drive back and we both have to be at work tomorrow." Jake kissed his sister's cheek. "But I will try not to be such a stranger."

"I expect a wedding invite," Annie grinned after she hugged Cassandra.

Cassandra stifled a laugh at Jake's face. It was partly stunned and part thoughtful.  They'd been talking about a baby but not about marriage.  Now she could see that the idea was in his head.  And it didn't scare it like she imagined, instead it sort of thrilled her.

"We're going now, baby sis." Jake gave Rosie one more hug and shook Mike's hand. Then they were off.

They'd brought their bags over in the morning and had said the mechanic was coming to pick them up. In reality, they'd had Jenkins open up a door to a supply closet in Annie's building.

* * *

 

Jenkins had given them a quick greeting on their return but then had disappeared into the back. The others didn't seem to be around.

"Cassandra?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you talked me into going. I have a lot of things to think about.  Actually, do you mind if I just go back to my place after I drop you off?"

"No," Cassandra said softly, taking his hand. "I have some thinking of my own to do tonight. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Of course."

He let go of her hand to pick up his bag. He then put his arm around her shoulders and they left the Annex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This did not go the way I was expecting it to go. I wanted the reality of the kids to put a damper on Jake and Cassandra's yearnings. But that's not how it happened at all. I hope you enjoyed the fluff!


	13. Future Thoughts-Jake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning from his sister's, Jake takes some time to think about Cassandra, children, his past and his future.

Jake had kissed Cassandra good night at her door and gone upstairs to his own place. It reminded him of the early weeks of their relationship, these days they seemed to share a bed more often than not.  He'd been wondering more and more as of late the point of even keeping two separate places.

_Hell, I've been wonderin' about a whole hell of lotta things lately._

He walked through to his bedroom, tossing his bag in the corner, he'd unpack it later. He had a passing thought about grabbing a beer but he ended up toeing off his boots and flopping backwards on the unmade bed.  The one major thought that had been swirling around him all weekend coming back to the front of his mind.

_We could actually have a baby. Our baby._

When he was young, he'd assumed he'd be like every other guy in his small town. Marry some local girl, raise a family in a house just like his parents had raised him in.  As he got to high school, reluctantly hiding his brains behind a jock persona, he figured he'd end up marrying the cheerleader he'd lost his virginity to.  But Mary Ellen had dreams bigger than their home town. And unlike him, she'd gone after them.

It'd been years before his next relationship. Oh, he'd dated beyond the girls he pretended to pick up in the bars.  But he had that weird hang up about love and sex, his teenage mind having deluded him into thinking he loved Mary Ellen, and nothing came of those relationships beyond a make out session or two.  Not until Emma had breezed into town.

Emma had been something else. And he'd loved her with everything he'd been able to share with the world.  She'd been his chance at the family that all of his friends, most of his siblings had.  But there were two things holding him back from ever proposing.

The biggest one had been himself.  He loved her. But he didn't trust her. Not completely, not like the way he trusted Cassandra.  Emma knew the good ole boy, the roughneck that everyone else in town knew.  They lived together and yet he carefully hid all of his research from her.   He'd even fixed his work schedule to be opposite to hers so that he could write without her knowing.   He'd blamed the rig for the schedule when she'd complain. That was no way to live, no way to have a relationship.  So he'd let her walk away.

The second reason was one that still haunted him.  Haunted him even more with Cassandra.  He worried he was too much like his father.  His father had always loved the bottle a bit too much but his mother had always keep him in line.  But she'd died shortly after he'd graduated high school.  His daddy had hit the bottle hard, leaving the kids to fend largely for themselves.  His oldest sister, Betty, already married and a mother, had taken Annie in.  That left him and his sister Jess to raise Kyle and Joey.  Jess, rebellious and angry, had run off with the first guy who offered.  Betty did her best to help him then, trying to keep their Daddy sober and Joey in particular out of trouble.

_He remembered coming home one night, a hard day trying to keep the family business afloat._

_"I don't think I can do this, Betty."_

_Betty had sighed kissing his cheek. "I think we're gonna have to sell, Jakey."_

_"If the old man would crawl out of his fuckin' bottle . . . ."_

_His sister shook her head. "He loved mama too much. Without her, life just ain't worth living. I think he's tryin'  to join her."_

Jake drank, but not really anything like his father.  A beer or two, he didn't like getting drunk. Part of it was his fear of losing control over his mask, the other was of course, becoming his father.  But here he was, hopelessly in love with a woman who was going to die far too young.   She always assured him that she was not in immediate danger, but she would leave him earlier than they wanted.

He'd tried, oh so very hard, not to get involved with her.  But it had been a losing battle.  Cassandra was the woman he'd been looking for all of his life.  He could simply be himself with her.  And never in his life would he have thought he would have something in common with a quirky math and science genius.  But he did.  From their tastes in food to a mutual love of antiques . . . her apartment was furnished with pieces that he loved for their history, beauty and the way they reminded him of her.  Before the Library, he'd had daydreams of antique shopping and picnics in meadows with a girl not that dissimilar to Cassandra.  He couldn't, wouldn't walk away now from her.

But a child . . . .

The odds were that if they had a child now, he or she would be in college before anything happened to Cassandra.  But what if the odds were against them?  What if she died earlier and he'd followed his father's downward spiral?   He never wanted a child of his to have to deal with what Joey and Annie had gone through.   Annie at least had Betty's stable influence. Joey still bore scars.  As hard as it had been for the older kids, Joey had ended up messed up the most.  Well, except for possibly Jess, now on her third husband but at least talking again to her siblings.

Cassandra wanted a baby.  She hadn't bothered to conceal her longing this weekend.  Even the first time they'd talked about children, he knew that she longed for what she had thought was impossible.  Like her, he'd let himself dream about smart little children with big blue eyes, maybe a little red haired girl who'd be the apple of her daddy's eye.

Neither of them had had the best childhoods.   His family hadn't had much and he hadn't exactly fit in.  His mama had always been poorly and his father was often absent.  Cassandra's parents had seen her more as a project then a child. He'd at least felt love,  there was love in the Stone household, no matter what.  Cassandra's upbringing had been far colder.  He was sure Cassandra's parents had loved her, but Cassandra herself wasn't sure.

He was certain he and Cassandra could give a child a far more loving, accepting life than they had had.  But were they ready?

Maybe they were moving too fast?   Hell, they didn't even live together.  And they'd talked babies before marriage.

Call him old fashioned but he wanted to be married before he had children.  But he had no idea how Cassandra felt about marriage.  When they talked about the future, the word marriage had never come up.  Which was strange because they talked in terms of spending the rest of their lives together.

Were they both assuming that marriage was implied? It was strange that it had never come up. Not until earlier when Annie had mentioned a wedding. 

It was time they had that discussion.  He knew he wasn't going anywhere.  His future was with his Cassandra.  But it was best to know exactly what the other expected.

He yawned. It had been a long emotional weekend.  With his luck, they'd probably have something in the clippings book first thing in the morning.  So he abandoned plans for raiding the fridge and stood up to take his jeans and belt off.  Suddenly he was too tired to even bother with finding something else to sleep in.

Within minutes, he fell asleep.  And in his dreams, he and Cassandra chased after a little blue eyed girl . . . .


	14. Future Thoughts-Cassandra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra's thoughts after returning from Jake's sister's house.

After Jake left, Cassandra entered her apartment and flipped on the radio.  A soft pop song filled the apartment as she set about unpacking her bag. Really most of it could have waited until tomorrow, but organization relaxed her.  This weekend had been hectic, more so she figured for her boyfriend, but still there were moments.

She wondered if the things Jake had to think about had to do with children.  Children and marriage.  She supposed they did, after all the questions had been brought up this weekend.  She smiled softly thinking about Jake holding that precious baby in his arms, weeping softly over the honor of being his namesake. Jake would be a good father.  She'd never forget that moment when hope and joy had flashed across his face when she said there was a possibility that they could have a child after all.

She honestly hadn't looked into surrogacy when she brought it up yesterday. It had suddenly jumped into her head as a viable solution.  She'd never really had reason to think about alternative means of having a child.  When she was first told that she should never carry a child, she'd been too young to even worry about it.  Her adult relationships had been fairly short lived, certainly none of the guys she dated had even been marriage material.  Not until Jake . . . .

Kind, sweet, earnest, old fashioned Jake. The man who loved her. The one who was ready to sacrifice anything for a few years of happiness with her.  She knew deep down that Jake deserved a woman who could give him children, a woman who would be with him to dance at their grandchild's wedding.   But she couldn't give him up.  Not for anything. 

Maybe it was selfish. She certainly had had her moments of selfishness. She nearly lost out on this love, this man because of her selfishness. 

_But when I look in his eyes . . .when he holds me like nothing could make him let go . . .when he tells me that he'd rather have me as long as he can instead of anyone else. . .I believe him._

She wondered again what he was thinking about upstairs. She had a feeling part of it had been his sister's teasing comment about a wedding invitation. Was he thinking about proposing?

Jake was an old fashioned guy.  He probably assumed that they would get married some day, even though he'd never actually brought it up. He'd only mentioned marriage once when he was telling her about why he didn't marry his ex-girlfriend.  She'd remembered he'd been quick to mention that he wasn't opposed to marriage in principle. 

Probably something that they should talk about.  She'd never actually mentioned to Jake that her parents were not married.  They'd been scientists of the generation that had started rejecting societal norms.  Although as far as she knew they were still partners, she was not so sure they'd ever really loved each other.  Instead, they had chosen a partnership based on compatibility or some other such nonsense.  Cassandra was not the same sort of romantic as Jake was, but she certainly was much more emotional  than her parents.  She wondered if that was another disappointment to them.

Her whimsy, her joy, her ability to actually love. Those were things that her parents simply did not understand.  Telling her at three that Santa Claus didn't exist.   _Ha!_  Telling her to get her head out of the clouds and stop daydreaming about pets and friends.   A large part of her life now was a direct rebellion against everything her parents had been.   

And her parents bitter disappointment when her illness had become apparent. It had nothing to do with losing their daughter early and everything to do with their perfect experiment not living up to potential.

She threw a pillow from her sofa across the room.  Old anger flared in her chest.  Her trophies disappearing. The argument when she dropped out of high school.  Her moving out of the house the second she could . . . .

The fact that she hadn't even talked to her family in at least six years . . . .

They wouldn't approve of Jake.  Even if she presented him to her parents as the genius art historian that he was, all they would see was small town Oklahoman.  And they certainly would have called her a fool for wanting to marry and start a family with a death sentence hanging over her.  They'd probably call her a sentimental fool for even entertaining thoughts of marriage.

Domestic partnership, that was the sensible thing.  It was the most she'd ever allow herself to think about . . . .

Except .  . .

_Jake . . ._

_I really want to marry Jake._

Of everything her parents had ever wanted for her.  Everything she thought she wanted for herself.  It all boiled down to two things she wanted. Well three things.

Two things she never allowed herself to want. And the one thing that she was that she didn't know even existed until a few months ago.

She wanted to be, what she was, a Librarian.  And she wanted to be a wife and mother. 

She smiled.  She, Jake and Ezekiel were already firsts in the Library. The first Librarians in training.  So why not another first?

She actually giggled thinking about Flynn.  He'd be delighted.  Probably want them to name their first born after him.

Baird would secretly be delighted for them but outwardly would tell them that she wouldn't babysit.

Jones would be well Jones. Probably steal them a wedding present.  Probably teach their kid how to pick locks.

Jenkins. The old softie.  He'd disapprove like crazy and then offer to escort her down the aisle.

She and Jake had both let so much of their lives pass them by.  Both out of fear.  He'd been afraid of what others would think. She'd been afraid of her illness.  This longing wasn't just her biological clock, though that was certainly going off like crazy.   It was time to stop watching on the sidelines. Just like they'd taken a chance on the Library, they had to take a chance on each other.

* * *

 

She looked at the antique clock on her coffee table.  It wasn't very late, she wondered if Jake was still awake.  She thought about calling to make sure, but she figured he wouldn't really mind if she came up.  She grabbed her keys and headed upstairs.

She'd knocked softly on the door and there was no answer.  Jake rarely remembered to turn his dead bolt, in fact there were times she had to remind him to even lock his door. So she let herself in with her key.  Jake's apartment was dark, lit only by the streetlights coming through the open curtains in the living room. She made her way back to the bedroom where she saw a light.

"Jake?"

Gentle snores answered her and she stifled a giggle.  The light on his nightstand was still on but Jake, half dressed, was sprawled fast asleep in the middle of the bed.

She almost kissed his forehead, turned off the lamp and left. But as her lips brushed across his forehead, he muttered her name and rolled over.  Her heart fluttered and she sat down on the bed to remove her boots, kicking them over by his. She took a few layers of clothing off to make herself more comfortable.

Then she turned off the light and curled herself around him.  And in her own dreams, she and Jake chased after a little blue eyed girl . . . .

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra was speaking to me, so we get an update sooner than I had anticipated. Her chapter's a little shorter than Jake's but she'd already made up her mind about some things. As always I blame Struckk for this. ;)


	15. Future Thoughts-The Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake wakes up to find Cassandra in his bed and they have a very interesting conversation about their future.

Jake woke the next morning to an armful of warm Cassandra. He hummed happily and tightened his arm around her.  And that's when his half asleep mind signaled something was off.  Why was he wearing a long sleeve shirt in bed with Cassandra?  Perplexed, he loosened his hold and looked down.

_Okkayy, boxers but two layers of shirts?_

Then his mind came back online. He remembered now being so exhausted last night that he'd barely been able to shuck off his jeans before falling asleep.  Asleep alone. . . . Cassandra definitely had not been there when he fell asleep.

He looked over at her.  The blanket was half pulled up over the two of them but she was in a camisole, probably shorts and tights.  Evidentially she had come up and crawled into bed with him after he'd fallen asleep.  Not that he wasn't pleased to see her but he wondered why. He'd crawled into her bed a couple of times but she'd never returned the favor.

"Cassie?" He whispered.

"Hmm?  Oh, morning Jake."

"Good morning to you.  Not that I ever mind wakin' up with you in my arms, but I'm pretty sure . . . ."

She turned to face him. "I came up here to talk to you last night but you were asleep." She giggled. "It was kinda cute, like a little kid too exhausted to change.  I was gonna leave but I kissed you and you said my name. And I couldn't."

"I was beat.  Hang on, I need the bathroom."

He got out of bed, shaking his head at himself and grabbing a pair of pajama pants off the chair on his way.

When he returned,  Cassandra slipped past him into the bathroom. She'd put her skirt back on but he was pretty sure she was wearing one of his shirts.  She did keep a few things at his place:  a toothbrush, basic toiletries and often a change of clothes.   Same thing with his stuff at her place.  He did wonder why they didn't keep more, these days they usually shared a bed even if they hadn't made love that night.  And the thought from last night about living together resurfaced.

He thought about getting dressed but Cassandra seemed to have something on her mind.  So they'd be late, unlike the original Library, the annex didn't have a working library over it.  So it wasn't as if the public expected them to be open.  Baird had set the hours to try to bring some sense of normalcy to the job, but if he had a dollar for every time that flew out the window . . . .

He was sitting cross legged on the bed when Cassandra returned. She'd changed her tights and oddly enough the ones she kept in his place matched the shirt she'd stolen out of his closet.

"I can change before work." She offered as he glanced at her and smiled.

"No way. You wear that. The last time you came to work in one of my shirts, Jones blushed so hard he couldn't make jokes.  That was the best day ever, didn't think that boy could get embarrassed about anything."

She smiled, tightening the knot she'd made in the tails to have it fit better across her smaller frame. "So were you going to get dressed?"

"In a bit.  I was wondering what it was you wanted to talk about."  He patted the bed next to him. "C'mere and tell me what's going through your head."

She sat next to him and suddenly felt shy. In the morning light, she wasn't exactly sure how to voice the conclusions she had come to last night.  Did she out and out tell him she wanted to get married?  How would he react to that?

She felt Jake's eyes on her. "Cassie?  What's wrong?"

"It's not wrong exactly." Her voice was soft. "I'm just not sure now how to put what I want or what I'm feeling into words.  I'm . . .you're better at words than I am."

"Don't know about that. I tend to use someone else's words to say what I need. I thought a lot about us last night.  About my own childhood, about other options for us to have children. Children that I do want, by the way."

She beamed briefly. "Oh, Jake." Then her face fell just a little. "My childhood was almost non-existent."

He curled an arm around her. "I know, honey, but I don't think you'd make your parents' mistakes. I know I won't make mine. We'd be great parents, you and me. If your health . . . ."

"I know.  We have to do a great deal of research into that option.  But there's more too. About our relationship. . . ."

"Yeah, I've been thinking a lot about that too.  We both want to spend . . . " Jake winced. "Um, whatever time we have left together. Right?"

"Jake, you don't have to sidestep around it."

"Our jobs are dangerous though, sweetheart, I could be . . . .There's no certainty of anything other than I want to share my life with you."

"And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

He smiled at her tenderly and kissed her.  As they pulled away, he said, "Will you . . ."

"Marry me?" Cassandra blurted.

"Move in with . . .Wait, what?"

"Marry me." Cassandra grinned. "Will you marry me? I really want to marry you."

Jake started laughing.  Cassandra looked really confused until he pulled her into his arms. "Oh, of course I'll marry you, Cassandra Cillian.  But wasn't I supposed to ask that? You know with a ring?"

"It's the twenty-first century, Jacob Stone, and I'm not an ordinary girl. We'll both get rings."

He winked at her. "You'd be surprised to learn that I would not be opposed to that idea.  So just so I'm clear, we just got engaged right?"

"Yes.  Also, yes on the move in idea. I think we'll need a bigger place though."

He nodded. "Yeah, I have a little experience in the living together department, a one bedroom gets very crowded very fast."

Cassandra sighed just a little.  Jake frowned confused. Then, he figured out what was wrong when she looked over at the clock. "We should get to work."

"The hell we are." Jake pulled her back into him, toppling them back over. "If they need us, they'll call. Otherwise, we're spending, oh, the rest of the morning in bed. The afternoon ring shopping and then probably the evening in bed too."

Cassandra's giggle signaled her agreement and after that, very few words were exchanged.


	16. Two Rings-Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Cassandra go ring shopping

"Jake?" Cassandra asked a slightly hesitant note in her voice.

"Yeah, darlin'?" Turning his head to look at her and wondering what could be wrong.

They were ring shopping, heading toward a vintage shop that Cassandra frequented, having not found anything they really liked at a more traditional jewelry store.

"Are you upset that I asked? I mean, stole your thunder or somehow," She winced, "Emasculated you?"

"Seriously?"Jake stopped dead and then looked around.  There was a bench a couple of shops down and he motioned her toward it.

When they were seated, he turned to look at her. "Look, I would have done things differently . . .you know taken you back to that garden you loved in Paris. Got down on one knee. Probably recited some poetry. But that's me, we've already established that I'm a romantic and maybe a little old fashioned."

"It's the old fashioned part . . . ."

"Honey, as you reminded me, it's the 21st century. I agreed to wear a ring too, didn't I?"

She beamed. "You did.  I'm a little surprised but then you're fond of jewelry."

"I am.  Always wanted to wear a ring again but my job kinda made it difficult. I wore my class ring as long as I could get away with it.  But to get back to your point, Cassandra, I want to marry you.  I just wasn't sure if you were into marriage, so I didn't want to  . . . .it doesn't matter.  I'm happy okay? You didn't steal my thunder or take away my manhood or anything like that. " He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You do deserve to have a fuss made over you . . .so don't expect the wedding to be in a hole in the wall.  You owe me my over the top romantic gesture."

Cassandra giggled. In truth, she really didn't want that much of a fuss.  But her fiancé was a romantic and she knew she did owe him the gesture. Besides, she trusted him to not make her uncomfortable.

"We haven't even talked about any of that. I didn't plan to actually ask like that.  Glad I did, but still."

"We'll worry about that later." He grabbed one of her hands and kissed it. "Come on, let's get to that shop before they close."

* * *

 

Once inside the shop, they were approached by the shop's owner, a kindly older man. "Is there something I could help you folks find?"

Cassandra beamed. "We're looking for engagement rings." She looked over at Jake. "For both of us."

The man grinned. "A modern couple wanting vintage rings.  Now if that doesn't say Portland, nothing does.  Come on over to the counter, I have a few new things in."

The man had barely set the first set of rings in front of them when they both gasped.

"Jake . . . ."

"Cassie . .. that pearl one."

"I know!  Oh, that's gorgeous. Can I try it on?"

The man held out the ring to her. "It's from the 1960s, though it's . . . ."

"Art deco." Jake grinned. "Revival in the 60s then?"

"Yes, as they say, everything comes around at least twice."

The ring was gold, a large pearl in the center.  Three small diamonds sat on either side of the pearl, two in a rectangle and one in a square.  It was just a little big for Cassandra's finger and she frowned.

"I can give you a referral to a goldsmith who can resize that for you."

Jake looked over at Cassandra who was speechlessly admiring the ring on her finger. "We'll take that one then."

"We don't have as big of a selection of men's rings, but hopefully you will find something you like."  The owner pulled out the men's ring cases and set them on the counter.  Jake figured he should get something that vaguely went with Cassandra's ring.  But his eyes kept going toward one ring in the back row. He kept looking away, toward the few gold rings near the front.  Cassandra was at his elbow and she watched him looking again at the silver and turquoise ring in the back.  It featured a hexagon shaped turquoise and an Aztec inspired design etched into the silver.

"If you want that one, get it." She said softly.

"It's . . .I really like it. But it ain't gold."

She shrugged. "So what?  We don't have to match."

"I could get a gold wedding band when we get married .  . . ."

"That sounds perfect. Get what speaks to you. And that ring, well it's very you."

"Can I look at the turquoise?" Jake asked, pointing to the ring in the back.

Unlike the one Cassandra picked out, this one fit Jake's finger. He also experimented with putting it on his right, a little tight there but not too bad. 

She lifted her eyebrows in question.

"I figured I could move it to the other hand . . . ."

"Oh, right."

"Alright, we'll take both of these and . . ." Jake grabbed two bracelets that had caught his eye when they came up to the counter. "Those.  You see anything else, Cass?  Like that brooch you're staring at?"

Cassandra giggled. "Alright and that too."

"If you could just box up my ring, I'm not going to wear it until she can."

After they left, with directions to the goldsmith, who happened to be in the next street over, Cassandra whispered, "Were you okay paying for that? Because I have some money in my account."

Jake grinned. "I looked at my account this morning and oddly, there was a couple grand more in there than I expected."

Cassandra looked at him wide eyed. "How did the Library . . . ."

"I don't even question anymore.  I'd imagine that suddenly our income will increase when we get a bigger place too.  The Library looks out for its own."

Since it was late in the day and the goldsmith had a few orders in front of him, Cassandra had to drop off her ring. The goldsmith promised a two day return.

"So," Jake asked, swinging their hands between them. "What do you want to do now?"

"I was reading about this really nice bistro . . .and then um I watched that two step video seven times. I think I have it now."

He beamed at her. "You didn't have to do that, you know. " At the look on her face, he continued.  "But I think it's really sweet that you did.  So where is this bistro?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little short and I apologize. Next chapter will involve everyone (including Flynn) finding out about the engagement. It will also be the final chapter in Impossible for Breakfast. Don't worry though, the series will continue, just in individual stories. This one is just getting too long.  
> Now for the added bonus: [ Cassandra's ring](http://www.polyvore.com/vintage_art_deco_style_cultured/thing?context_id=13660338&context_type=user_fav&id=132560097)  
> [Jake's ring](http://www.polyvore.com/turquoise_aztec_ring/thing?context_id=13660338&context_type=user_fav&id=132563529)


	17. Two Rings-Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Cassandra announce their engagement. And Flynn returns.

"Well, that was a waste of a morning." Jake grumbled as he slid behind the wheel of his truck. "Didn't like a single one of those places."

"Not the whole morning was wasted." Cassandra said looking down at the ring that Jake had placed on her finger shortly after they'd left the goldsmith.

Jake grinned looking at his own ring. "Okay, not all of it.  But still . . . ."

"I know.  We're hardly home but I'd like, I don't know, well, something different than what we've been looking at."

Jake made a frustrated sound. "Maybe we have to look further away from the Annex? I . . ." His phone started ringing. "Oh . . . it's Baird."

"Better get that."

"Hey," he answered trying to sound like they hadn't blown off yet another day of work.

"Stone.  I've been wondering if you and Cassandra were still alive."

"We're fine.  We were apartment huntin'.  I do remember tellin' you this."

"Yes, and I remember you also telling me you needed two hours.  It's been four."

Jake winced. "Oh."

"Yes.  And you didn't come in at all on Monday. What is going on with the two of you?"

"Nothin' we just got caught up in . . .Anyway Baird, I take it we have a case?"

"Something like that.  Just get here."

"She hung up." Jake said looking over at Cassandra. "And she's getting as cryptic as Jenkins. How can we have something like a case?"

"I don't know.  I guess today is the day we tell everyone we're engaged, huh?"

"If you're ready . . . . If you'd rather keep it our secret . . . ."

Cassandra smiled and stretched across the seat to kiss his cheek. "I'm ready.  Just be prepared for Ezekiel."

Jake chuckled and turned to kiss her properly. "I'm too happy for him to have any effect on me today."

"Hmm, just don't hit him." Cassandra winked.

* * *

 

They entered the Annex hand in hand.  A voice boomed out, "Well, there's two and three."

"Flynn!" Cassandra cried, dropping Jake's hand to run into the Librarian's arms.

"Hey, you're a sight for sore eyes." Jake grinned at Flynn from behind Cassandra.

Flynn chuckled releasing Cassandra from the hug. "The last time I saw you two, I figured peace had been declared.  Now we have hand holding and apartment hunting and . . . " He took a look between the two of them. "Huh, I'll be."

"What's huh?" Baird asked coming from behind him.

Cassandra held out her left hand and Baird gasped.  Ezekiel materialized from somewhere and gave a whistle. "That's a fine ring you've got there.  Stone, I'm impressed."

Jake rolled his eyes at the thief and tried to reign in a chuckle at how incredibly girly Baird suddenly had become.

"That's gorgeous!  When did this happen?"

"This weekend, well actually Monday morning, after we got back from visiting his sister. I . . ." Cassandra's explanation was cut off by an exclamation from Ezekiel.

"Are you wearing a ring, mate?"

Jake straightened his spine, held his left hand up so the ring was visible and stared straight at Jones. "Yes, I am."

"You guys didn't get married, did you?"  Baird asked, looking from one to another.

"In many cultures," Flynn piped in. "Both the man and the woman wear engagement rings. . . ."

He looked like he was probably going to launch into a lecture but he was stopped by Jake's "Exactly!"

"We didn't get married. We wouldn't do that without having you all part of it." Cassandra said.

Jake curled his arm around Cassandra and took a deep breath. He fully expected an onslaught by Jones but . . . ."Cassandra did the proposing so it was only fair that we both got rings."

Ezekiel started laughing and Baird twisted his ear so hard that he shouted. "Ouch! That was uncalled for."

"So is whatever you are going to say. " She turned to the couple. "I think that's very you, honestly.  Congratulations."

"Yes, congratulations," came the voice of Jenkins from the center of the room.  He smiled at Cassandra. "Though tea is my preferred libation, I do have a bottle for just such an occasion."

She gifted him with one of her brightest smiles. "Thank you, Jenkins."

Jenkins wandered into the kitchenette.  Jake turned to Flynn, "So what does bring you back? Not dragons again?"

"No, no.   This is strictly a research trip. Which reminds me, I should . . ." He looked over wistfully at Baird who was talking to Cassandra and keeping one eye on Jones. "Get on that."

Jake followed his look. "Stay for the bubbly at least.  And just so you know," Jake winked at him. "Baird likes a late lunch."

Jake patted the Librarian's shoulder and walked over to his fiancée.

* * *

 

"So seriously?" Jones was asking. "You just blurted it out?"

"Pretty much." Cassandra giggled.

Jones shrugged and turned to Jake. "I bet you were gutted. No love poetry and over the top romantic gestures to be had."

Jake rolled his eyes. "It was romantic enough."

Cassandra's resulting smile and the look on Jake's face made both Baird and Jones feel like they were intruding.  Baird cleared her throat.

"So, uh, have you set a date yet?"

Cassandra shook her head.

"We still have to tell our folks. Just not quite sure . . .well Cassandra's met my youngest sister but there's still the others and my father.  And . . . ."

"I haven't even spoken to my family in years." Cassandra sighed. "I'm getting up the courage to call them this weekend.  They don't even know I left New York."

"That's rough." Ezekiel said, his manner changing.  Cassandra was a soft spot for him, the sister he never had and never knew he needed. "If you guys would rather have us as a family . . . ."

Both Baird and Jake looked at him in shock.  Cassandra smiled sweetly at him.

"That was very sweet, Ezekiel.  Thank you."

"That was . . ." Jake's voice broke. "Really nice Jones.  Appreciate it."

"Hey, let's just not make a big deal out of this, okay?" Jones suddenly went back to his usual self. "Look, Jenkins.  Maybe he found cake too. Because any excuse for cake right?"

Baird smiled. "Make sure to reserve an entire layer of your wedding cake for Jones." She nudged the young man toward Jenkins. "And you know, what Jones said goes for Flynn and I as well. Anything you need, you just ask us."

"Thank you," Cassandra smiled. "Eve. For everything."

Baird walked off and Cassandra sniffled a little.  Jake pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you. And this job."

* * *

 

Jenkins set a tray with 6 champagne flutes and a bottle of Bollinger on the main table.

"It's not quite the Library's collection of fine wines, but I find this an excellent brand. Not that your tastes would be sophisticated enough to notice."

The others just rolled their eyes and ignored Jenkins. They'd come to know that that was how he showed affection.

"And just for you Mr. Jones, I do indeed have cake. Oddly enough."

Champagne was passed around and Baird looked over at Flynn. "Maybe a toast?"

He brightened up and she raised a finger. "On second thought, let me make the toast. "  She thought for a long moment then raised her glass. "We've all come such a long way since ninjas invaded a bar in Oklahoma."

Jake laughed, putting his arm around Cassandra.

"I've watched us all struggle with this new world around us, watched you all bicker and fight, watched trust issues be resolved, watched Jake and Cassandra fall in love. I'm sure that along with the three of you being the first Librarians in training this is probably another first. But I think the Library would join us in our congratulations."

"It would." Flynn said with a smile. "May you two be the first of a long line of Librarians who found happiness here in these walls."

"I'd like to drink this, so here's to Jake and Cassandra." Ezekiel finished. "Cheers!"

"And may the Library be back and whole by the time we exchange wedding vows." Cassandra said softly.

Flynn smiled at her. "I'm hoping that wish will come true very shortly."

* * *

 

So it came to pass that Cassandra's wish did come true.   Within a couple of days, Flynn's research had paid off.  The weeks that followed were fraught with danger but eventually the Library was restored.  Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, it was now rooted to the Annex in Portland and no longer under the Metropolitan Library in New York.  The LITs had been graduated to full Librarians, the first of hopefully many in this new Library.  Charlene hadn't been too happy with the Library's sending habits in her absence but the Library and she had come to an agreement. After all, the Back Door significantly cut down on travel expenses.  Flynn and Eve were now able to explore their own relationship.

And now that the hectic month was over, Jake and Cassandra could go back to planning their own future.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flynn's voice is incredibly hard for me to capture, which is why I didn't have him speak much. Imagine that the finding of the Library went pretty much like it did in Loom of Fate, except obviously the dynamic between Jake and Cassandra would be different. And possibly they wouldn't have run straight off to Lima. Although maybe they would. Putting off telling your family things when you're not sure of their reaction . . . .  
> This is the last chapter in Impossible for Breakfast. This is not the end of Jake and Cassandra's stories in this verse though.


End file.
